


Brothers Conflict ft. Hinata Allen

by NoirxAnge



Series: A World with Older Brothers [1]
Category: Brothers Conflict, Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Insecurity, M/M, Past Relationships, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-20 18:56:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 26,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6021184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirxAnge/pseuds/NoirxAnge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allen had already lost confidence in love, in life in general really. He held few things dear, but even those were at risk. Could he ever regain the esteem that he lost, and find warmth? </p><p>-It was ironic how everyone believed him, yet he didn't believe himself.-<br/>-(Papa could never not need Chi, but as for me...)-<br/>-Maybe being a part of this unfamiliar huge family was easier than he thought.-</p><p>((I'm not good at summaries. Why not click and try reading? :D))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"You're the one I like."

"The whisper of love is too close to resist."

"Love has no taboos."

"Would you accept me; the way I am?"

Twelve flames lit up, warming the quivering heart.

For the first time, he felt the true warmth of love without being worried about anything else. 

For the first time, he allowed others to support him and take care of him.

For the first time, he let go of himself and flew. 

For the first time, he fell in love.

He smiled softly, let a few tears roll down white cheeks, and embraced the lights tightly.

"I'll never let you go."

_That was us, siblings._

* * *

 

"Don't stray away from me, and stay away from those animals!" Juli shouted out, panting heavily in his anger. Ema just sighed softly in exasperation and nodded with a slight smile, and Allen laughed lightly behind his hand.

Juli was the overly protective father —or overly possessive lover—, caring for both Ema and Allen's safety. He was always there for them, protecting them in place of their real father, Hinata Rintarou. And now, the siblings' beloved father was finally remarrying, to the second love of his life, in two months. It was also decided that Ema and Allen were to stay in the house where their new stepbrothers lived, much to Juli's disgust and anger.

"URGH, what on earth was that Rintarou thinking when he let you two underage children live with so many wolves in the same house? He surely knows that you would both be outnumbered and eaten alive! He has a house all for himself and yet...!"

Ema and Allen both laughed awkwardly —Juli had yet to find peace and stop— and started to wonder aloud what their new brothers would be like.

Ema worried, "Do you think they'll like us? After all, it must have been quite surprising to know that they're gaining a new pair of siblings after being around only themselves for a long time..."

Allen hummed as he pondered on the thought, furrowing his brows as he tried to imagine their reactions.

Anxiety knotted his stomach but he showed nothing. He couldn't afford to be seen wavering, the foundations of their very selves would be crushed.

"Well, we'll never know until we try. Let's just try to make a good impression on them first so it's easier on us both to fit in better later. Ema, you'll be fine," Allen comforted his beloved sister.

It was ironic how everyone believed him, yet he didn't believe himself.

Suddenly Allen began rummaging through his bag, taking out a plastic container and showing it proudly to Ema. "I made these as a gift though... I hope they like — Ah!"

His usual clumsiness —or just plain bad luck— kicked in. When he held the container in just one hand, and the other hand pushing his sunglasses up, the train had come to a halt, and he dropped the container. Ema couldn't move fast enough to catch it, her hand missing the container slightly. Luckily, Allen had reflexes as fast as he was clumsy. With the container held close to Allen's chest, the siblings both heaved a silent sigh of relief. Looking at each other, they felt a bubble of laughter threatening to burst out of their mouths, and quickly bit their lower lips. They couldn't stifle it though when Juli just continued to rant. Bright cheery laughter rang throughout the train carriage, and infected the other occupants with their happiness.

This, at least, was guaranteed to be theirs forever.

_(Please don't change.)_

* * *

 

Ema and Allen strolled down the path, laughing together and reminiscing about the times they spent with their Papa. Melancholy was in their eyes, for no matter how strong a front they put up, they knew that they couldn't hide anything, not when they both knew the truth.

They had been a family of three, had never let anyone else into the deep intimacies of their life together. They had been happy together, sharing secrets and inside jokes, telling each other the deep matters they always held heavy in their hearts, staying up late together talking about nothing and everything under the sky. Papa was everything to them, and they to him. No matter how busy he was as an adventurer, he always made time for them, always attended all parent-teacher meetings, sport meets, school events. Everything. Papa and Ema and Allen were happy.

But Papa held deep grief in his heart. Though he was strong, it was human nature to long for a companion. When Papa met Asahina Miwa, they found that they clicked like matching jigsaw puzzle pieces that filled up the gaps in their incomplete lives. Soon after, he had asked his children for their blessings. He may have craved a life partner, but his children always held priority over everything else. It was no question that Ema and Allen would grant his deepest wish to have a complete family, for they knew. One day they would inevitably leave the nest, and they would never be the same forever anyways. Why not grant the one wish their dearest Papa had, and give him a companion that would love him for him before they left?

To have had such a huge warm bashful smile that spoke only of his joy on his face, Papa must've loved Miwa a lot. It was humbling to know that such an amazing person so full of love had put Ema and Allen first in his life. Giving him their blessings was like a mere droplet to the ocean of love he'd given them. They owed it to him. The happiness that he should've always had, was something they couldn't refuse.

But yet.

What if Papa started to forget about them and see only Asahina Miwa? What if Ema and Allen were to wake up one day, and find that Papa was no longer around for them? What if they became mere burdens for him?

What if Papa disappeared from their lives, because _he didn't need them anymore_?

 _(Papa could never not need Chi, but as for_ me _...)_

These dreadful questions rendered them helpless, as though they were dying from the drying up of their habitat, their sea. The worry was a drought, sucking them dry of hope. They couldn't talk to Papa about this like they would've any other matters of the heart — he would become concerned about comforting and assuring them instead and not focus on his wedding.

So Hinata Ema and Allen chose to keep their silence, stay their normal selves and support Papa whole-heartedly.

They wouldn't become burdens, taints on Papa's conscious. They'd kill themselves first before that happened.

_(I'll make sure the two I love most will get their happy ending, no matter what.)_

Ema and Allen held hands together as they reached the Sunrise Residence — their new home.

A silent mutual promise of always being there for each other. No matter what.

_No matter what._

* * *

 

"Oh, the van came before us," observed Allen as the trio reached the Sunrise Residence. Juli's fur bristled as he growled out, "Chi, Sei, don't go near them without me!"

Laughing at Juli's persistent distrust, they walked at a slightly faster pace to meet the two strangers — new brothers — at the entrance.

"Sorry to interrupt... Are you part of the Asahina family?" Ema asked the strangers meekly.

The older was of a tall and lithe build, with short fluffy dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had on a green sweater that complimented his hair and eye colour. He also had a kind face with gentle eyes and a soothing smile. Overall, he seemed rather laid back and very content with everything in life.

The younger seemed to be an elementary school student, who had a bright smile on as he stared almost amazedly (Allen didn't understand why) at the Hinata siblings. He had fluffy salmon hair, with the same brown eyes as the older stranger. With a yellow-pink jacket on, it made him seem to be a very cheerful child belonging to a happy family.

All these details were quickly observed by Allen's sharp eyes, scrutinizing everything to ensure that they weren't of any threat. (To them or Papa's future happiness, he did not know.)

The older stranger smiled as he understood the situation, "Ah yes, I'm Asahina Masaomi, the oldest of the sons. You two must be Hinata Ema and Allen, Rintarou-san's children yes?"

Nervously, the Hinata siblings bowed and replied, "Yes! Please take care of us."

"Me! Me! I'm Wataru, the youngest! Elementary student, 10 years old, at your service!" Wataru shouted excitedly. "Wah, I have a new brother and sister, lucky me!"

Then, Wataru tilted his head to the side questioningly at Allen, and asked curiously, "Al-nii, are you very cold? Even though it's the middle of spring?"

Masaomi just sighed in exasperation. He too was curious but at least he had the courtesy to not let out his questions. Nonetheless, he too waited anticipating what Allen's reply would be. Ema just laughed awkwardly, fully knowing and empathising with the reason why her brother would go to such means.

Besides being shocked at Wataru giving him a nickname so quickly, Allen began to revaluate his outfit. As he thought, wearing a thick muffler over his mouth, a hat and dark tinted sunglasses were too out of season for him to get away with it. Furthermore, he was standing beside Ema, who wore just her junior high school uniform, and had no signs of being cold. The contrast between them just emphasized on how ridiculous Allen's outfit was.

_(The sheer contrast doesn't just stop at appearances.)_

Allen sighed softly and bent down to meet Wataru's height. "I have a reason but let's go in before I tell you, if not it's a s-e-c-r-e-t," teased Allen softly, a small smile on his face, wagging his finger before tapping lightly on Wataru's nose.

Wataru's eyes seemed to sparkle, "A secret? Then what are we waiting for, let's go in!" He grabbed Allen and Ema's startled hands, marching into the residence.  Masaomi just smiled softly, and followed them in.

That was the start, the first step into their new lives.

* * *

 

This apartment building is more of a mansion than anything, the Hinatas thought, surprised at the mere size of the place. Then again, it does have to fit thirteen people. On the way in, Wataru had taken the lead and finally let go of his prey. Allen nudged Ema, pointing to her empty shoulder. They gave each other a look, and just shrugged: Juli was a force that couldn't be reckoned with, so they didn't even try anymore.

Finally, they ended the nerve-wrecking journey to the living room, where there were even more brothers sitting on the sofa. _I don't think I can actually get used to this just yet,_ Ema thought tentatively. Looking at Allen, she thought, _well at least Sei isn't feeling anything off from them._ On the outside, Allen seemed to be calm and collected, but on the inside he was green from the nervousness he felt meeting so many new people. One would think that a person in his profession would be immune to this. Ema saw through everything and smiled slightly, giving a comforting squeeze around Allen's hand. _Sei, you can do it!_

"Not everyone could make it today, but most of them are here. You'll get a chance to meet the others another day," Masaomi explained.

As though the brothers only just realised who the two intruders were, Allen could feel all eyes on him. After all, he _was_ the one dressed weirdly next to his normal sister. Allen blushed a light pink, bowing perfectly at ninety degrees, "I-I'm H-Hinata A-Allen, 18 years old, t-thank you for having me in your care!" Blushing an even darker pink at his stutter, Allen almost fainted from the heat his face was giving out. Ema giggled, and did the same. "I'm Hinata Ema, 16 years old, thank you for having us in your care."

_(Ah, why am I like this?)_

The glint in the brothers' eyes softened as they heard how nervous Allen was, and decided to give him a break. A tall blonde with spiky hair and hazel eyes stood up and put his arm around Allen's shoulder, noting the height difference mentally. How small and cute. He grinned, "Hey little kitten. I'm Kaname, 3rd son of the Asahina family, just call me onii-chan." He ended with a wink at Allen. Allen's back became tenser than before, standing ramrod straight, replying, "Y-yes."

Kaname chuckled and then yelped in pain. "It hurts you know, Ukyo-niisan," he winced. A honey blonde with more tamed and carefully styled hair, and blue eyes, stood behind Kaname, his hand clenched into a fist mid-air. "Allen-san, Ema-san, please pay no attention to this idiot here," he smiled tersely, "I'm Ukyo, 2nd after Masaomi-niisan. I hope you enjoy your stay with us." 

Taking that as their cue, the rest began to introduce themselves.

A pair of males stood up, one with white hair and the other with black hair, both with violet eyes. They were identical twins, but looked to be the opposites of each other: the white haired male had his bangs covering his left eye and a mole under his right while the black haired male had his covering his right eye and a mole under his left. The white haired male grinned widely, waving one hand at Ema and draping himself on Allen's back. Allen staggered under the sudden weight, the culprit behind him laughing wickedly. "I'm Tsubaki, number five in the family! This bore here," he pointed at his twin, "is my younger twin, Azusa. It'll be fun messing around with you - I mean getting along." With the wide dark smile he had on, it was no wonder no one believed him. Azusa just sighed and dragged Tsubaki away. "Sorry, but this guy's always been like this. I hope you enjoy your stay with us," Azusa smiled warmly.

Next was a dark grey haired male of an athletic build. "I'm Subaru. 19 years old. Number nine. Basketball player. Nice to meet you." This person seems to be very serious, and also very passionate about his sport. _Also not very talkative, unlike Wataru,_ thought Allen while he smiled slightly back at Subaru.

Lastly, another tall male with slate coloured hair and hazel eyes introduced himself as Iori. "This," he smiled coolly and handed Ema and Allen a dark pink rose each. "is a welcoming gift."

_(Flowers... I used to receive them often...)_

Allen's eyes had sparkles in them as he cradled the rose gently, and smiled sweetly up at Iori, "Thank you for the flower, I'll make sure to treasure it." Ema nodded in thanks as well, saying, "Thank you for the warm welcome." Iori just blinked a few times, before smiling beatifically. The others just stared at the happy picture they made together, especially since Iori almost never smiled. _Not since..._

Just then, a redhead walked into the living room, shouting crassly, "Oi, wasn't there a rule to not bring girls into the living room?" He looked at the Hinata siblings, not seeming to understand that they weren't both girls. Allen's aura seemed to get extremely dark in an instant, startling the Asahina brothers. "Ah well it's true isn't it, I do look like a girl," murmured Allen self-deprecatingly, head down facing the side, hair covering his eyes. Ema just patted his back comfortingly, smiling while furrowing her brows. The redhead looked at Ema, then ran next to her in shock. "Y-you, Hinata?!"

"Asahina-kun! Oh right, your surname is Asahina, isn't it?" Ema blinked in surprise.

_(This is a chance. Take it.)_

Allen recovered from his bout of depression, and said in sudden understanding, "So this is the cute classmate you were always telling me and Juli about, Chi?"

Upon hearing that tidbit, both Ema and the redhead blushed furiously, stammering in embarrassment (Ema) and pleasant surprise (redhead), "W-What?"

Ema grabbed Allen's coat in a bout of furious embarrassment, shaking him rapidly. "S-Sei! Don't trouble Yuusuke-kun with these things! L-look, everyone's bothered by it!" She waved her hand at the sofa full of shocked brothers. Blinking calmly, Allen just wondered monotonously, "Hmm, Yuusuke-kun, was it? Didn't you just call him Asahina-kun?"

_(I know how she'll react.)_

"Wha-," Ema let go of Allen, and steam seemed to puff out from her face —her face was that hot—, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment. "W-well, they're all Asahinas anyway, calling him by name isn't weird!"

Yuusuke looked away from Ema, rubbing the back of his head, his face as red as his hair. The other brothers stared at him, smirking all the way. Yuusuke panicked, desperate to direct their attention away from him, and pointed at Allen agitatedly, "T-That aside, who are you?! Why are you dressed so weirdly even though it's clearly spring?!"

**...**

"Ah," Allen hit his open left palm with the bottom of his right fist. "I forgot I was still wearing this. Here, Chi, pass." He passed his sling bag to Ema, and began to take his outfit apart. The dark blue hat he had on revealed midnight black hair tipped in blue, in a loose bun. He took off his dark tinted sunglasses, showing his silvery grey eyes. His muffler had hidden his heart-shaped face, but it too was taken off. After his 'disguise' was removed, it turned out that Allen was a pretty cute guy, judging by the Asahinas' pleasantly surprised expressions.

But somehow, Allen seemed familiar...

Tsubaki thought out loud, "Allen-kun, did we meet before? You look weirdly familiar..."

Avoiding eye contact with anyone, Allen rubbed the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly, stuttering, "R-really, I don't know either haha. Ha, ha..."

_Stare..._

Ema and Allen winced, looking at each other as though they were having a silent conversation. Allen sighed in defeat as Ema inclined her head towards the brothers.

With determined eyes, Allen bowed once again. "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Hinata Allen, Chi's older brother, otherwise known as Hyuuga Seiya. Nice to meet you all, and I hope to stay in your good care!"

_(Please, don't be like them. Not again.)_

One.  _Dud_  

Two.  _Dud_

Three. **_Ding_**

"OH!" The Asahinas remembered. Hyuuga Seiya, another popular idol that they always saw on the television on almost all of the same programs as their own Asahina idol. After seeing him so many times on the television, they themselves had grown fond of his music and the idol himself as they watched the co-interviews he had with their own brother. To think that they hadn't even recognised his voice...! Now that Allen's muffler was gone, his familiar voice could be clearly heard. No one else they knew had the same soft timbre and pitch as Seiya did, his wide vocal range, not with that rare sweet voice... Especially not when he was one of the few who could successfully sing both female and male parts well.  Hyuuga Seiya was definitely a notable singer that was the cream of the crop.

"Hn, we have another professional then. Do let us know if you ever need a drive home or if you'll be coming home late," Ukyo told Allen, pointing to a whiteboard outside the kitchen. "That's our way of communicating since it can be troublesome to always text each other at the last minute," he explained. With that as the only visible reaction the Asahinas had, it was as though the news wasn't that big. Allen blinked in surprise, then nodded in relief. His whole stature relaxed minutely; he had been so worried about their reactions. He honestly thought that they would either be one of his die-hard fans or his haters and treat him as Hyuuga Seiya the idol, rather than Hinata Allen the new brother.

He didn't want his career to be the one thing that caused a rift between their families.

Masaomi then suggested, "Since everyone that could make it is here, let's have a seat and just talk some more. I'll go make some tea." Ukyo and him then went to the kitchen, while the rest sat down on the sofa with the Hinata siblings in the middle.

\--

"Wow, I couldn't tell that you were siblings at first!" Kaname took a closer look at the two. Ema had soft brown hair tied up in a side ponytail, and caramel eyes. Allen had raven black hair with blue hair tips, that was much longer than Ema's and silvery grey eyes that seemed to change colour as the day passed. But otherwise, they had the same heart shaped face, and similar build. Initially, it was hard to tell the two were related, due to the vast differences between them. Looking past the different colouring, it was obvious to see that Allen and Ema were siblings. It was also easy to understand why Yuusuke had thought Allen to be a girl at first, what with his more feminine facial structures and short height. Ema just snickered, "Sei's 'disguise' didn't help at all I'm sure." Her comment caused Allen to narrow his eyes a bit and sulk.

Wataru jumped on his seat spiritedly and asked, "Hey hey, why do you call each other Chi and Sei?"

Allen was the next to speak. "Papa gave us Japanese nicknames when we were younger. Chi is short for Chiharu, 千陽, for 'thousand suns', while Sei is short for Seiya, 星夜, for 'starry night'," he explained. "That's why my stage name is Seiya as well. It's easier to pretend you're just an avid fan who cosplays as him all the time, when you don't have the same name as him."

The brothers 'ooh'ed in understanding, while some (Tsubaki and Yuusuke) just laughed at how stupid their own brother was for not thinking of this. Ukyo and Masaomi came out of the kitchen with a tray each, and set down cups of tea on the coffee table. Ukyo apologized, "We seem to have ran out of snacks, so you'll have to make do with just tea."

Ema just waved her hands in front of her face, and said that it was fine. As though only just remembering, Allen dug out the plastic container from his bag, and held it out to Ukyo. "Erm, these are just some homemade cookies," he said tentatively. "I'm not sure if it will fit everyone's tastes, but if you permit it, we could have these as snacks instead...?" Ukyo smiled at him, "You didn't have to do so much, but thank you for the cookies. I'm sure that everyone will like it." He glared at the rest, "Right?"

Kaname laughed forcefully, "Of course, it's made by our otouto-chan. Now, everyone, take one." He took the container from Ukyo, took out one monster-sized cookie, and passed it on. Soon everyone had one in his hands, and took a bite at the same time.

_Chew. Chew. **Melt**. _

Tsubaki's eyes shined, and glomp-ed Allen. He looked up at Allen with adoration, blurting out, "Marry me Allen!"

_(Marriage...)_

Immediately, the victim started stammering, his arms slightly flailing around, unsure of what to do. "E-Erm... Tsubaki-san?"

"Yeah yeah! It's super delicious! Would you cook more for us? No one knows how to bake here," Wataru pouted.

Ema laughed, and promised, "Sei loves to bake, so I'm sure he will make more for you soon."

Staring at Ema sideways, Allen threw her under the bus too. "Chi loves to cook too so she will definitely cook for the family someday."

Wincing from the comeback, Ema shrugged in defeat as she saw how happy Wataru was.

Kaname took this chance to swing his arm back around Allen's shoulder. Leaning closer to Allen's face, he smirked. "With your cooking skills, you'd be a great wife in the Asahina family."

Before Allen could respond, a grey blur flew down from the inner balcony above the kitchen, and light glinted off sharp knives. The next moment, Kaname's face had scratches, and he cupped his nose to protect it from any further attacks. Juli hissed at him from his place on Allen's head, hackles raised. Just as Juli launched to attack the blonde again, slender fingers plucked him away and placed him on a lap.

Ema chided Juli, finger pointing in his face. "You can't do that Juli, you could've seriously hurt Kaname-san with what you did."

"But Chi, he-"

"No."

"But Sei was in danger!"

"Juli," Allen cupped the squirrel into his hands, bringing him up to his face. "I wasn't in any danger and you knew that. You have to control your temper, if not you can't stay with us. So please be good, okay?" pleaded Allen with the disgruntled squirrel.

_(For Chi's sake if anything.)_

He then turned to face Kaname, whose face had been cleaned up by Masaomi. "I'm really sorry for what Juli did, does it hurt a lot?" the dark haired boy worried. His fingers neared the wound, but were grabbed before he could graze it. Kaname turned his face into Allen's palm, breathing in deeply, eyelids fluttering before smirking at Allen. "Since it's for my cute otouto-chan, it's fine."

Ema grabbed hold of Juli before he could scratch Kaname again.

* * *

 

A tall pale man with light ash brown hair and mauve eyes entered the living room, rubbing his eyes with his palm. As he didn't look out carefully, he accidentally bumped into a slender back. He blinked for a few times. This person was too short to be one of the older brothers, too tall to be the baby, too lithe to be Fuuto or Yuusuke. While he had been pondering about who the person could be, he heard a voice squeaking out apologies. Right, he hadn't said anything the past few minutes where he had been staring at the stranger. The brunette smiled and started hugging Allen, pulling Ema in as well when he saw her looking on worriedly. The other brothers just either chuckled at the Hinatas' confused expressions, or rolled their eyes at their brother's behaviour. The strange man finally introduced himself after a long minute of awkward hugging.

With a soft voice, mauve eyes seemed to shimmer. "I'm Louis Asahina, numbering eight. Let's all get along, kay?" He squeezed the two again and finally let them go. As though that was the only point he wanted to make, Louis simply ventured to the kitchen, helping out with dinner.

Allen and Ema just stared on, dumbfounded. Juli for some reason didn't make any fuss about Louis hugging his charges.

* * *

 

While Allen excused himself to the bathroom and Juli stayed with Ema as her protector, she helped out the dinner preparation with the family. Or rather, she tried to. Whenever she grabbed something, it mysteriously disappeared from her hands after she talked with one of the brothers. Sighing in defeat mentally, she watched the television. The super popular singing idol, Asakura Fuuto was live, and was his normal sweet self to his fans in the audience. At least, she thought that was his normal behaviour, until Tsubaki gagged exaggeratedly at Fuuto's actions. She asked in plain curiosity, "Tsubaki-san, do you dislike Asakura Fuuto?"

It was as though her question had been a landmine and she had stepped —no, dived head first— into one. Tsubaki immediately started ranting about how Fuuto was a fake, disrespectful little brat, shocking Ema. Azusa hit his twin's head hard, which effectively distracted Tsubaki from his irritation to whining in pain. Wataru however was the complete opposite. He raved about how cool "Fuu-tan" was, and described his awe at "Fuu-tan's" work.

Ukyo explained to Ema upon seeing her confusion. "Fuuto is actually the second youngest in the family, but you can only meet him after he returns from his tour in Hokkaido. He can be quite belittling at times, so when you do meet him, don't be afraid to stand up to him." He smiled encouragingly at Ema, and stood to refill the pot of tea.

Absorbing the new information that apparently Fuuto wasn't as nice as she thought he was, and that he was her new brother, Ema leaned against the sofa.

_I wonder what Sei will think about this... Fuu-tan sounds real familiar too..._

* * *

 

Time had passed especially fast after dinner, and the sun had already fallen to the moon. Wataru's head was already on Masaomi's lap, sleeping. Allen too was dozing off, his chin dropping to his chest before he raised it up, repeating the cycle over. Sighing at her brother's stubbornness, Ema guided his head to her shoulder, and Juli slid down to her lap. The Asahina brothers quieted down, and Ukyo went ahead to clean up the coffee table.

Subaru asked, "So you're in the same class as Yuusuke right? What about Allen? Where does he study?"

Normally siblings would be admitted into the same schools for convenience's sake, regardless of any age gap. Or at least, that's what parents usually did. Yuusuke had been in shock when he heard that Ema had a brother, so it was safe to assume that Allen had not attended the same school. Had he been in their high school, Yuusuke would've heard of Allen during his first year since Allen would've been a third year. He and Ema had been in the same class since the start of high school after all.

Pondering about how to phrase her answer, Ema started slowly, "He doesn't go to public school. He'd graduated from an idol academy a few years back, and is now focusing on his career." Ukyo frowned, concerned that Allen wasn't receiving proper education. The teenager quickly reassured him, "Allen is definitely smart enough to skip a few grades though, so he's not at a disadvantage or anything. He's just not making studies his... priorities."

Silence took over as everyone rested, mingling quietly among themselves. Time ticked slowly, and everything was peaceful. The brothers often sneaked a peak at Allen, who looked serene as he slept. It must have been tiring moving into a house full of strangers.  

The shadow of the night fell, moonlight shining through the windows into the living room. Yuusuke looked at the clock, and cursed. "Damn, it's pretty late. Tomorrow's a weekday too," he sighed. The eldest apologized to Ema, "I'm sorry but we only have one available room. I did ask Rintarou-san whether you would mind but he said it was fine. I hope you're okay with the arrangements."

Ema smiled Masaomi's concerns away and replied happily, "That's great! We've always stayed in the same room, so it's nothing different. It'd be weird to suddenly be in a different room anyway."

Shaking Allen slightly, Ema woke him up and the two of them stood up to follow Subaru to their new room, Juli riding on Ema's shoulder. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, Allen grabbed unto Ema's hand and wobbled after her. The newcomers turned around and wished them a good night's rest before leaving the living room.

 _Well_ , the Asahinas thought with an array of emotions, _that went well._

* * *

 

 

Subaru stood outside their room awkwardly and passed Ema the room keys. "Here," he said. "This is your room key, and here's a map of the floor too. If you need anything, just tell Azusa-nii and Tsubaki-nii. They stay right next to you two." He pointed to the doors next to theirs, which had the name tags of the two brothers outside. After wishing them a good night, he walked away. He did however remember to tell them, "Ah, sorry we couldn't help you unpack today. We'll help in the weekend, so just go change and sleep, yeah?"

And they were alone.

They stood in front of their door for a few slow moments, and opened the door together. _This was our new room._ It was barely big enough to fit them both, but snug was what they liked. It wasn't anything out of normal, but was so different from their old room with Papa. _This was our new life._ They'd be making new memories here, with a new family.

Juli was the one to bring them out of their stupor. "It's late so go get showering before sleeping. Shoo!" _This was the same._

Giggling like naughty schoolchildren, they quickly gathered their pyjamas and left Juli in their new - different - room. Allen whistled when they tried to determine where the bathroom was, still impressed by the size of the level they were on itself.

They finally found the bathroom after several wrong turns and were ready to enter the warm sanctuary, and **bang!** Subaru came out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist, and didn't seem to realise the reason behind the Hinatas' hot blushes. Kaname, who had wanted to make sure his new siblings were comfortable, just palmed his face and pointed to his own lower body behind the flustered duo to Subaru.  It was Subaru's turn next to blush and he stuttered out an apology before quickly shutting the bathroom door in front of him. Kaname left before he witnessed any more embarrassing moments like these, chuckling to himself. 

"Chi, maybe we should wait a bit..." Allen breathed out. Ema just nodded slightly, still red in the face. The older decided that he was thirsty and dragged the two of them to the kitchen to get some water. Thirst quenched, their ears pricked when they heard a muffled conversation in the living room. Allen bit his lip before letting his curiosity get the better of him, Ema trailing behind him frantically.

"I can't keep it in anymore, I have to tell you..." _Tsubaki-san's voice?_

"You can't, you'll just endanger yourself. Please, don't-" _This is definitely Azusa-san's._

"I-I love you." _How sweet... Wait, what?_

Allen and Ema stood in surprised silence. They stared at each other, mouthing words they wanted to speak but their voice wouldn't work. As they got more worked up and flustered by the too many incidents in too short a time period, they found Subaru fully dressed, walking towards them. "Hey, I'm sorry for just now- Huh?" Subaru's attention was drawn by Azusa's positive reply to Tsubaki's confession. He looked at the Hinata siblings, and started to clear the misunderstanding. "Ah, they're not really confessing, they're just-"

He was once again cut off by the appearance of the two lovers themselves. "My, what do we have here?" Tsubaki teased, his arm around Azusa's shoulders. "Two cute eavesdroppers and one dull brother." Upon confronting the two lovers after hearing their confession, Ema and Allen's faces steamed. Tsubaki got the gist of what they thought judging from their reactions, and decided to have some fun. He turned his face to meet Azusa's, and kissed him on the lips. Even Subaru's eyes widened as he started doubting what he knew was fact. All the poor duo could do was stammer out congratulations and well-wishes to the new couple. Before they could escape to their room though, Tsubaki burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

Azusa just sighed. He smiled apologetically after making sure Tsubaki had paid enough for the prank. "We were just practising our scripts, we're not really in love, don't worry."

"Scripts?"

"Yep. Me and Azusa are voice actors, we help each other practise a lot. It's cool right? Being able to act out cool characters, having a chance to see all the animes first..." Tsubaki's eyes shined as he got more and more excited, forgetting the pain from before.

_(Tsubaki-san is really different from him...)_

Allen's eyes brightened as well, amazed. "It's great to have a profession you love, isn't it?" He smiled happily. Tsubaki blinked a few times and grinned back. "Yep!"

"It's late," Azusa cut into the fluffy moment. "We all have work tomorrow, so let's go sleep. Good night!" And they left, Azusa dragging Tsubaki along. The other three stood in silence for a while longer, and left for their respective rooms as well.

_That sure was fun._

* * *

 

Juli had fussed about the time and rushed them to sleep, but as usual he was the first to sleep soundly. His new miniature bed was on the desk between the two beds where each of the siblings laid.

**Tick. Tick. Tick.**

Allen stared up at the ceiling that didn't have the stain shaped like a wolf, that had a soft cream colour instead of a sea blue.

**Tick. Tick. Tick.**

He heard rustling and then a whisper.

"Sei?"

"Hmm?"

"I can't sleep."

"Me neither."

As though that was a cue, Ema climbed into the comforting warmth, and held Allen's hand. Their eyes met and smiled.

_Today went well didn't it?_

_It did._ Her eyes fluttered close.

 _It's a relief._ His eyes fell close.

Their chests warm and tingly, they fell asleep together under the new roof.

* * *

 

 _Two new siblings huh. They weren't that bad._ Flashes of Allen and Ema crossed their minds _. Not bad at all._

* * *

 

_Author’s note:_

_So I’ve come up with a new story haha. Right now my plan is to upload only when the net chapter is finished so hopefully updates should be fine… Hopefully. Real life is really tough, especially when you’re still a student. I’ve been obsessed with Brothers’ Conflict and Uta no Prince-sama since last year, and when I sat down to write, this story decided to be a crossover on its own. It’d be great if you guys watched the two animes before, but if not I think it’s fine to just read on. :) If I write well enough I should be able to convey the characteristics of the characters just fine without prior context. I hope you enjoyed reading!_


	2. Chapter Two

Yawning and scratching the back of his head, Tsubaki was on the way to the ground floor to get some coffee to wake himself up. However, once he and Azusa reached, they paused. The atmosphere was tense, and it felt as though even the sharpest blade would find difficulty in cutting through the air.

_What on earth happened?_

Just as Tsubaki opened his mouth to ask, Yuusuke caught his eyes and shook his head frantically. They had never been on very friendly terms, always finding ways to annoy each other. So it was surprising that Yuusuke looked as though he was worried for Tsubaki's safety. Looking at each other, Tsubaki and Azusa just shrugged and sat at their respective seats at the dining table. All the brothers that had met the new family members were all assembled at the dining table, while Ukyo and Ema were in the kitchen preparing breakfast in awkward silence. Come to think of it, all their faces didn't look good, they were all pale and too quiet for a group of males.

As Tsubaki's eyes wandered, he found the new brother with his head on his folded arms, sitting beside him. Allen had his hair untied and mussed, and headphones on, blasting loudly. Tsubaki grinned.

"Oi, Allen-kun~," he took the headphones off. "Don't be so cold! Talk to your brothers...?"

Tsubaki must still be sleeping because _holy fuck did Allen look terrifying_.

Allen twitched as his headphones were removed. The other brothers just gulped and prayed for Tsubaki's life to be spared. The devil’s incarnate slowly raised his head and stared into Tsubaki's quivering soul. He growled out, "Excuse me? Did you need anything?" His question was worded politely enough, if only it didn't have the malicious intent behind. The victim immediately clammed up, and shook his head quickly, keeping mum. _Wrong move._

"So," the demon drawled out. "you disturbed me only to tell me you need nothing?"

_Fuck._

Before Tsubaki fainted from fright, an angel saved him from the devil. "Sei," she called out softly. "Here's your coffee. You'll need to get ready soon or you'll be late." Her chiding raised the brothers' eyebrows as they silently admired her courage. A mug of steaming coffee was on the table, next to it the hairpins Allen usually had on. As though the coffee was air itself, it was gulped down quickly. A slender hand took the accessories and pinned back the left side of his fringe and voila. The Allen they knew finally came back. "Thanks Chi." He rose from his seat. "Excuse me, I'll go get changed."

When the ticking time bomb left, the brothers all relaxed drastically, while Tsubaki tried to keep his heart rate under control. With a teary voice, he cried out, "I thought I was gonna die for sure." None of them, let alone Tsubaki, would have imagined that Allen of all people could look so intimidating and menacing. Allen had always appeared to be more shy and timid, like a cute kitten. Polite and quiet, he was an adorable little thing, especially so since he's the shortest next to Wataru. Today, they finally saw his claws unleashed. It was not quite an experience they wanted to repeated.

Ema just laughed awkwardly. She apologised to the table, "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you that Sei can be like that. He has extremely low blood pressure so he's always in a terrible mood in the morning before he has his coffee."  [A/N: think of Huni or Kyouya in Ouran High]

The first few mornings, he'd always woken earlier than the rest of them. So when they met in the morning, he would be his normal shy quiet self before them. It was no wonder they were in for a big shock that morning when Allen had slept in later than usual.

Masaomi forced on a smile and reassured Ema that things were absolutely fine and no, they weren't scared or intimidated at all. With a heavy sigh, Ukyo wiped his glasses, while Kaname melted in his chair. Everyone still couldn't believe that under the gentle sweet looking Allen laid a beast that ate anyone that tickled it awake. Iori pinched the bridge of his nose, while Yuusuke trembled. Azusa was still trying to stuff Tsubaki's soul back into his empty body, and Subaru cleared his throat to hide his relief at the lack of tension. Wataru on the other hand, was once again the only one who felt remotely positive in the face of Allen's sleepy wrath. He thought it was amazing that a small body like Al-nii's could store so much power, and a bud of admiration grew within him.

They heard footsteps coming down the stairs to the living room, and Allen seemed to skip, albeit minimally, towards Ema. He had changed from his home clothes to that of a white dress shirt and denim jeans, carrying a school bag in his hands. Passing the bag to Ema, he smiled bashfully. "Erm," he blushed. "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier. If it helps to know, you can always pass me some chocolate or coffee to keep me calmer." He fidgeted for a while, until Ema started to clean up. Allen scurried over to help, his blush not abating in the slightest.

_(Ah. I've done it again. Such a stupid mistake...)_

Yuusuke stood up suddenly from his seat, palms flat on the table. Upon seeing that everyone including Ema was staring at him, his face flushed red. He managed to voice out, "I-it's time for school. We'll be late if we don't go now." Ema blushed and nodded, moving out with Yuusuke before saying goodbye to the remaining family members. Allen waved back at her, then sat back at the dining table.

Noticing the expression on Allen's face, Kaname asked, "Otouto-chan, why so happy?" It was still weird to see the drastic change in Allen’s moods from before and then, but at least he was back to what they were all more used to. They would definitely take more notice of what his future... quirks were like. Just in case.

The idol looked up in surprise, then replied brightly, or as brightly as speaking softly could be. "I have work today with my friends, so I'm looking forward to later." He then tilted his face downward, looking at Kaname from under his lashes. A light pink blush rose in Allen's cheeks. "Is that weird?" The brothers still at the table were looking at him with soft smiles. It had been a while since anyone was this bashful in the family.

Azusa replied with a smile, "No, it's not weird at all. It's great that you look forward to your work this much."

_(It's not weird...)_

Assured, Allen started brewing another cup of coffee, though this time it was black. He poured the drink into a disposable cup, and sat back down at the table. He hummed while he swung his legs, the picture of childish innocence. Suddenly, Allen's phone vibrated, and after he checked his message, he stood up. With a wave to the Asahinas and the coffee in another hand, Allen said, "Well, I have to go now. I'll be back by late afternoon though."

With that said, the Asahinas responded back with nods, smiles and waves, and watched as Allen left.

_The meek boy has claws; I wonder what other sides have we not seen yet..._

* * *

 

"And it's a wrap! Good job everyone, thanks for coming down today!"

"Thank you for the work!"

Allen bowed back at the staff members in thanks. Waving goodbye, he left the studio with his colleagues.

"Uwah, that was tiring!" Reiji groaned as he stretched. The brunette stayed quiet for a few moments then brightly suggested, "Hey hey, let's go get some grub! Hey Al-Al~ Ran-Ran~ Ai-Ai~ Myu~"

The older three immediately shut Reiji down, giving varying responses of the same message.

"Shut up you idiot."

"You're too noisy."

"Do not call me that, you plebeian."

Allen just chuckled at the expected replies while Reiji just whined, "You're all so mean! I guess that means only me and Al-Al are gonna go eat."

He looked expectantly at Allen. "Right?"

The other three all looked at him to make his decision as well. Ranmaru's face was full of dread while Ai and Camus simply waited as they anticipated his reply.

It was normal for Reiji to first be rejected by everyone else but Allen. Either way, the rest would follow, after Allen agreed. It didn't matter how reluctant they were; they were never going to leave Allen alone with that idiot. Reiji's sparkling eyes only worked on Allen, too effectively as well. Just imagining what the poor Hinata could be put through if they were alone sent shivers down their spines.

But this time, Allen was regrettably unavailable to go along. "I'm sorry Rei," he apologized. "I've got to continue unpacking my belongings. Maybe next time?"

"Ehhhh~" Reiji pouted before clutching his head in pain. Ai reassured Allen that it was fine, while Reiji quarrelled with Ranmaru for hitting his head. The three of them left to the car park first, leaving the blonde and the raven-haired together outside the studio doors. Soft patters of raindrops echoed around them.

Camus was the one to break the silence. "You."

_(No. Don't.)_

"Yes?"

He remained silent for a few moments. Almost reluctantly, he opened his mouth.

"Would you like me to drive you back?"

Allen's eyes were dark and distant, as though thinking of a past long gone. "No," he declined. "It's fine, Myu. Shouldn't you be preparing for your dinner date with Victoria?" The blonde winced at the name.

 _Bingo_.

"Allen—"

Molten silver met wavering blue. A dark pained whisper passed through the winds, heard even in the loud rumbles of thunder.

"Don't overstep your boundaries, _Camus_."

* * *

 

Iori neared the complex, holding back a sigh. When he had been tending the gardens earlier, he had found that the bed of anemone flowers had started to wither, much to his displeasure. Flowers had been her everything, so it was now his everything. If he couldn't even maintain a single bed of flowers, what use was he of? It didn't help his bad mood that he only had a total of three hours of sleep these two days. An exam student's life went long into the night; studies couldn't be more of a burden than they were. Amidst his brooding, Iori looked down the road, and saw a motorcycle just ahead of him.

The bike stopped in front of the Sunrise Residence, and a male alighted and took off his helmet, revealing himself to be Allen. He seemed to smile at the rider and waved, mouthing some words that Iori took to be his thanks. The vehicle then drove off at a high speed, soon entirely vanishing from Iori's line of vision. It was as though with the disappearance of the car, the idol's good mood died away as well, the aura around him becoming tangibly darker. From what Iori could see, Allen seemed to subconsciously huddle into himself, slouching slightly. He stood where he alighted for a few moments, his hand still in a wave, before forcing himself to be in a straighter posture. It was like a candle, his spirit waned, almost extinguishing before rekindling in its warmth.

The slate-haired youth decided that it was better for Allen to be happy from his heart, rather than put up that facade he had. So he called out to Allen with the full intention of cheering him up, jogging to his side. There was a weird sensation that gave him tickles in the chest, something he very rarely felt nowadays. "Allen-san! How was your work today?" Iori could feel a difference in how he smiled down at Allen; it felt far warmer than anything he gave his family members nowadays, which was weird considering that they had always supported him, in their own way. But Allen was somewhat ...different. He felt a certain camaraderie, strangely so. Maybe he was thinking too much into it, he certainly did that often enough. But there was no question that the ice he put up around himself thawed, however slightly, whenever he interacted with his new brother. He couldn't help but think that, perhaps, he was finally healing as his brothers (particularly Kaname) had always hoped he would, and surprisingly, he didn't quite mind it as much as he had once thought.

Jumping slightly in surprise, Allen turned around at the sound of Iori's voice. He smiled back at Iori, "Hello Iori-san. It was very enriching as usual today. How was yours?" Allen hardly knew Iori, but since Iori had given him flowers that first meeting, he felt a sense of connection with him. _Dark pink roses: thank you for coming into my life_. Perhaps they were to represent his thanks for allowing their respective parent to marry, rather than for their actual selves becoming part of the already big family, but nonetheless the sentiment was much appreciated. He too found comfort in expressing himself through flowers like Iori. It was rare to find someone that didn't just settle for something appealing to the eye, but searched for something that held a deeper meaning. Beauty laid in the words that went unspoken, in the simplicity of the meanings behind each and every petal and stalk.

_(There's someone who’s the slightest bit like me...)_

They carried on their conversation, allowing silence to fill in when they didn't talk. It was comfortable, not as suffocating as he thought it would be. They may have met only a few days ago, but somehow, Allen could feel the chill deep within his bones start to dissipate. 

* * *

 

"I'm home!"

Allen toed off his boots and walked into the living room. Iori simply retreated to the garden, leaving the teenager alone.

Ukyo and Wataru greeted back, "Welcome home."

They were the only ones on the ground floor, and also in the whole building it seemed. The complex was quiet, unmoving. _The entire place seems so much smaller when everyone is here,_ Allen mused. There were colourful strings and deflated balloons all over the floor, while Wataru hummed loudly as he folded paper flowers on the sofa. A delicious smell wafted from the kitchen as well, causing the idol to sniff the air, and let out a euphoric sigh. He stepped towards the kitchen, both enticed by the fragrance and driven by his want to know more about his family. He didn't have many chances yet to talk to his new siblings, often he was either too shy or they were preoccupied with other matters.

"Ukyo-san, you're back quite early today."

"Yes, well there wasn't much work today and I can always finish the rest tomorrow. There's more to do at home anyways."

"Wataru-chan didn't have classes today?" According to what he remembered from the past, school didn't end yet unless there was a change in curriculum.

A sigh was the response, then an exasperated smile. "Well, he couldn't stay still today and overworked himself into having a stomach ache. That was his chance to come home, and which child wouldn't take it?"

Allen nodded his head in understanding, and couldn't quite suppress a small laugh at the thought of Wataru begging to return home, rolling on the floor amidst agitated teachers.

He asked Ukyo curiously, "Wataru-chan seems busy with many decorations, is there a party tonight?"

"Today's Subaru's 20th birthday, so almost everyone is coming back to celebrate," he replied. After a slight pause, he repeated with more than a touch of sadness, "Well, almost everyone."

Allen took note of the emphasis, and wisely did not pry. Ukyo was the second son of the family, and seemed to have taken up the role of the mother. Despite his busy schedule, he'd always cook for them, and never complained. Allen had witnessed him tutoring Yuusuke at times, as well as Iori and Subaru. Allen remembered seeing Ukyo often working into the middle of the night, and just the night before, he saw him looking over some documents while brewing a pot of coffee in the kitchen. Ukyo was clearly very busy, yet he made sure to interact with everyone. He took great care of them all, and made it his personal responsibility to see to everyone's needs. _Ukyo-san really shoulders a lot for the family... I wish I could do something but..._

_(Maybe, even if it's just a bit...)_

With determination, the idol asked shyly, "E-Erm, Ukyo-san?"

"Yes?" Ukyo replied with a gentle smile.

"I-if you have any troubles, p-please know that I'm always r-ready to help," Allen managed to stammer out. If even a little, he wanted to help with this new family of his.

Surprise clear on his face, the blonde's eyes softened. "Thank you, I'll be sure to ask you for assistance when I need it." And he turned back to his preparation.

Allen fumbled with his fingers, apprehension radiating from his very body. "C-Can I call you K-Kyo-nii?" His face was like an overly ripe tomato, red and ready to burst. This time, he wasn't the only one blushing. The lawyer pushed up his glasses to hide the sudden faint blush he had. He did manage to get out, "A-ah, I'd be happy if you called me that."

A small shy quirk of the lips was thrown his way before a ball of energy threw itself at Allen. "Al-nii, you wanna fold flowers with me?"

Stumbling a bit from the force, Allen just laughed lightly before agreeing. The two of them laid on the ground on their stomachs, and resumed folding the many paper flowers to decorate later.

All that could be heard was the clinking of glasses and porcelain from the kitchen, and the rustling of paper and laughter from the living room. All remained the same, and yet there was a great difference in the atmosphere.

Ukyo's blush stayed on his face as he continued preparing for the feast. _Allen can be surprisingly... spontaneous_. A soft smile lingered on his lips even as he watched over the two from the sink. _His blush was... adorable._ Heat rose in his cheeks and nape, and he scrubbed the dishes harder.

Steam rose from a bubbling pot behind him.

* * *

 

The three of them had been immersed with their task, when there was a loud thud. It came from the inner balcony at the second floor, looking over the living room. Wataru and Allen flinched in shock while Ukyo calmly looked over the schedule at the kitchen door. Sighing when he spotted who could be home at this timing, Ukyo just spoke to the floor above, voice full of irritation. "Louis, stop laying down wherever you want and come down and help with the preparations."

The chiding clearly worked like magic. Soon, the tall lean man walked into the living room almost dazedly. Upon sighting Allen with his hair in a loose ponytail, Louis seemed to go into a craze. He crawled near the two folding paper decorations, and gently tugged at dark strands of hair. Giggles could be heard outside his line of sight; Allen dully remembered that he and Louis weren't alone.

The weird thing was that the older man didn't seem to want to talk, depending on his body language instead. Louis' eyes were opened wide, wet and glossy. His lips were in a pout, and he was the very image of a whining dog. Allen could almost see the ears pricked up and tail wagging. It didn't help that he was particularly weak to animals, and he was definitely going to give in to Louis in

three,

two,

one.

Allen inwardly heaved a heavy sigh, and smiled at Louis fondly. "Louis-san, would you be kind enough to help me style my hair for the party tonight?" As though he had been waiting for this question, the hairstylist immediately jumped up and went to grab his tools. _Louis-san really loves his job,_ Allen mused. _Miwa did mention it before but he supposed he never really believed it until now._

_(Miwa-san mentioned too, that Louis-san is only so enthusiastic when he really likes the person...)_

Gentle flames kindled in Allen's chest, his whole body felt tingly from the implications. Maybe being a part of this unfamiliar huge family was easier than he thought. Softly, he smiled to himself as he tied the folded flowers in his hands into a bouquet. 

* * *

 

"I'm home!"

The voice carried over to the living room. Juli immediately jumped down from Ema's head, and ran around the living room, squeaking at the top of his lungs. "Sei! Sei! Where are you? I wanted to wait for you so we could go together and stay as a group but the animal insisted that it was urgent so I'm sorry we left you alone in the den — where are you?!" Though the rambling had started slow, the pace quickened as his anxiety rose when no reply came.  However, it seemed that Juli was the only one worrying himself — Ema was sure that her brother was mature enough to take care of himself, and Yuusuke had no clue about what the grey critter was screeching about anyways. While Juli had been searching for Allen frantically, the two had placed their bags on the kitchen table, Ukyo helping to refrigerate whatever needed to be, Wataru cooing over the bags of sugar and the bright colours of food colouring.

With the ensuing silence, the squirrel was almost overwhelmed by the number of possible consequences and accidents his charge could've met with. He was near fainting. Thankfully, before anyone listening had an eardrum burst or Juli had a heart attack, Allen appeared at the front of the garden door. He had on an oversized apron soiled with dirt, and gardening gloves the colour of moss. Just as he intended to welcome them home, the squirrel's jump attack caused him to take a step back instead. Laughing away Juli's worries gently, Allen sneaked a peek at Ema and Yuusuke, who had apparently gone grocery shopping together. Their pink faces were evidently not from any harsh weather, judging from the way they glanced at each other much too often. For a strange reason he could not articulate, he felt acute pain in his chest. _I suppose it is time for the chick to spread its wings soon…_

Swatting away the sudden onslaught of emotions, he lightly smiled at the two. As though he knew what Juli was going to ask, Allen reported, "Juli, I was just helping Iori-san with the gardening. He bought beautiful dandelions this time to plant!"

Iori could be heard chuckling before he appeared behind the boy of black and blue, holding a pair of gardening shears. "I'm glad to hear that you like them so much," he quirked his lips. "Where did you two go to?" He directed his question at the redhead.

"Tsk. We just went to the convenience shop to get the cake ingredients."

"Hmm, and that took you two hours?"

Cue the brightening of the red in their finally paler cheeks. _Ema's blush is reaching her ears_ , Allen noted fondly. Yuusuke just started stuttering out that they had been choosing the premium ingredients, when more footsteps and muffled voices could be heard echoing through the front door.

 _It must be Louis-san,_ Allen concluded. After his offer to let Louis style his hair for the night, Louis had scrambled to find his equipment. They did start the styling, but never finished as the equipment gave no response when the switch was flicked on. So the desperate hairstylist put his project on hold, and left to his studio to get his more professional ones. The carefree individual had yet to return home, so it was logical to think that it was he in the doorway. Allen then excused himself from the humorous display of Yuusuke bending himself over trying to find a convincing excuse, to welcome the devoted professional home. He let Juli down unto the sofa and strolled towards the door.

He was beat to the chase however by Wataru; the exuberant boy having ran to the door after forcefully dragging himself away from the sweet goodness. "Louis-nii, Al-nii was waiting — Fuu-tan!" The sudden excited squeals coming from Wataru prompted Allen to walk faster, interest piqued. However just as he turned around the corner, he flew back on his behind, wincing slightly from the blow. He could hear the other person cursing under his breath, something along the lines of _'today is really a bad day for me'_. Hearing that, Allen hurried to apologise, but just as he raised his head he could hear the cogs of his mind stop.

Silver eyes met caramel eyes.

"... Asacchi?"

"Yoru?"

**...**

There was a thud and a happy squeal resonating throughout the hallway.

"!"

"Yoru~ I missed you! Did you come all the way to my house to welcome me back?" Allen could almost see the imaginary tail wagging furiously behind Fuuto.

"I wish I did, but, no."

"Eh?" The tail had stopped, and ears had popped up to show themselves being pinned back, Allen imagined amusedly.

"I missed you too, but... Asacchi, what's your name?"

"Asakura Fuuto..."

"Your _real_ name."

"Asahina Fuuto? It was written outside the gate?"

"..."

"Yoru?"

“My real name is Hinata Allen."

"Hehh, that's a pretty name for a pretty person! ... Wait, Hinata? As in..."

"Yes. Your new brother.”

"..."

"Uwah! Fuu-tan looks like a ghost!"

**[ Asahina Fuuto: K.O.]**

* * *

 

Fuuto remained seated at the dining table, arms crossed as he sulked and pouted. He stared sullenly at the two Hinatas in the kitchen, more specifically, the male one. Louis, Iori, Wataru and Yuusuke were also at the dining table, though they were more occupied with the setting of the table than Fuuto's typical moodiness. The two younger ones in the kitchen were busy with mixing up the cake batter, while Ukyo was still stirring the stew slowly. Allen was entirely focused on the cake making, and didn't seem to notice the stare that was digging a hole into his figure.

Midway through, he realised Ema wasn't doing her part as enthusiastically as she usually did. _That's weird, normally she'd already be humming some catchy songs or cracking some horribly lame jokes._

"Chi, milk please."

"..."

"Chi? What's wrong?"

Ema was too quiet and tense, almost as though she was wary of imminent danger. Allen stopped his mixing and poked her side. Jumping slightly, the high schooler apologised for her inattentiveness, and proceeded with the addition of milk to the mix. It was as though she could feel the unspoken concern Allen held for her; she put down the empty bowl and lowered her head near his, whispering.

"Don't you think you should, I don't know, say _something_ to Fuuto-san? He does seem pretty upset..."

Allen did something unusual upon hearing that: he snorted in amusement. Though it was soft, it was obvious that Fuuto heard what with the growing intensity in his pouting. With only the two talking in the immediate vicinity, every word could be heard by every person, no matter how quiet they tried to be. "Asacchi isn't someone who would hold a grudge for something this trivial. Right?"

Clearly the question was meant for Fuuto and he knew it. In a second, he had slunk behind Allen, arms wrapped round his waist, face hidden in his nape. Mumbles could be heard, though only Allen could actually decipher what they meant.

"Y... 've told... Unfair...”

The Asahina brothers present could only gape (inwardly or outwardly) and stare at the blatant show of affection from the normally contemptuous idol. The older siblings even narrowed their eyes at Fuuto, displeased for some reason they themselves didn't quite understand. His actions certainly didn't look like it was a façade like it usually was when on television. Who (especially Yuusuke) would've thought that Fuuto was capable of sucking up to someone? And Allen didn't seem perturbed at all at how physical Fuuto was with him, and even acted as though he was used to it and to an extent whereby he knew how to treat Fuuto when he was in such a mood.

He reached up with his left hand to pat the fluffy light brown hair, all the while mixing the batter with his right. "I'm sorry but, you never told me your real name as well." What started off with a placating tone ended with a bit of chiding. "At least we'll be living together from now on, aren't you happy about that?"

It was as though a flag was triggered, Fuuto's eye glinted. "I am happy! But I won't accept that you're my brother, because I—"

Before he could state the reason why, he was cut off by a song.

_~All that is near us we must know_

_Could disappear any day be careful_

_The main key to finding happiness_

_Lies nowhere else but in my soul_

_You know the closer you get to something_

_The tougher it is to see it_

_And I_ _’ll never take it for granted~_

Ema's soft giggles could be heard, and a slight pinking of Allen's cheeks was seen as Fuuto dug out his phone. "Yes?" His tone entirely changed as he cheerily answered his call. "It's already that late? Alright, I'll be out in a few."

**Click**

A sigh.

Allen prompted Fuuto, "You have an appointment don't you? Take care to come back in time for the party." With a slight furrow still in his brows, Fuuto bent down slightly to peck the raven-haired idol's cheek. "Yeah, see you later." And away he went, without a second word, leaving a group of dumbfounded males, an amused Ema and an indifferent Allen.

**Bang**

"Al-nii, why do you know Fuu-tan?" Wataru's head tilted to a side in confusion. Though it was not the most important question the older ones had in mind, it was one that could possibly explain the cocky Asahina's actions. Blinking, Allen answered, "Well, we belong to the same agency, so we met during Fuuto's debut. In fact, I was the one who composed his debut piece. We had worked together for quite a few times since Fuuto debuted in the idol industry."

The reply did answer how they met, but it didn't answer why Fuuto acted so familiar and coy with Allen. "Are the two of you good friends?" Iori couldn't stop himself from asking. His feathers were still ruffled from the display of intimacy between the two.

Allen poured the batter into a circular tin and passed it to Ema who put it into the oven, before whipping out the cream. A few moments passed, and just as Iori was about to ask again, Allen looked up at them. "You could say that. He's a very good friend." A smile could practically be heard in the words.

"You mean that snob?!" That, of course, came from Yuusuke, who could hardly believe that there was someone who actually wasn't put off by Fuuto's actual personality. The only person who could do that had to be a saint, which when Yuusuke thought back on what he knew from his mother based on Rintarou's sharing, and his own observations of Allen the past few days, made sense.

"He has flaws just like anyone else, but he's grown on me." As though he was reminiscing about past encounters, Allen smiled secretively. "Asacchi can be very sweet," he shared happily, like a doting parent. "You just need to know how he ticks."

The brothers still could not fully wrap their heads around the fact that Fuuto could be this fond of someone. Ukyo felt a twinge of remorse: did they really not know Fuuto as well as a colleague of his did? They were family, and in spite of an age gap, family was supposed to understand each other better than anyone else. He breathed out deeply, then patted Allen on the head. "It looks like I'll have to count on you to teach me how to deal with Fuuto then," the blonde smiled at Allen, looking almost tenderly at him.

Again, the other brothers could only stare as the normally stoic brother seemed to melt in the light that was Allen. The celebrity could only blush lightly and promise with his shoulders hunched up shyly, "Un, just ask me for whatever you need, Kyo-nii."

"Kyo-nii?!" The exclamation came from all four brothers, while Ema just giggled into her hand yet again. _It seems like Sei's charm is working pretty efficiently._

With the amount of shock and surprise coming from his new title for Ukyo, Allen's blush deepened from a soft petal pink to a darker peach. Louis's normally sleepy eyes brightened up, and he strode into the kitchen, and tucked his chin on Allen's head. "What about me then? I'm your brother too," he pouted playfully, or maybe not. "It's not fair that Ukyo-niisan is the only one getting special treatment," Iori teased lightly, hazel eyes looking upon the pink face.

Allen fumbled with his fingers, face hidden beneath his fringe as he looked down again. Adorably flustered, he stuttered out shyly, "T-then, Louis-nii, Io-kun, Yuu-kun...?" He pointed at each person as he decided upon a new nickname for them all.

Hearts melted.

"Eeehhhhh, what about me, Al-nii? I wanna new name too!"

"Alright, but Wataru-chan is Wataru-chan-esque, at least that's what I think..."

Eyes sparkling, Wataru chirped delightedly, "Okay then!"

Two brothers tried to ignore the goo in their chests, while one was basking in the warmth, another turning away to look at another. Allen tried to make himself busy to escape his embarrassment but alas, Ema had completed everything while he had been occupied. She just snickered at him when he puffed up his cheeks at her, mock-indignantly. Juli continued sleeping on the sofa, exhausted from the shopping trip.

* * *

 

"Happy birthday to you~"

Clapping could be heard in the dining room of the Sunrise Residence. Twenty tiny flames were extinguished and the entire room was engulfed in darkness, before the lights were switched on to reveal an embarrassed Subaru and the whole family around the table. The birthday cake was a beauty: rectangular and pure white with dollops of cream coupled with strawberries and blueberries, topped with an elegant Happy Birthday chocolate decoration. Ukyo cut the cake into sixteen pieces, the very first going to Subaru. It was a huge hit; everyone liked the cake (whether they showed it openly or not), and thanked Ema and Allen for their hard work. Everyone chatted, enjoying the rare moments when they could spend more time together. Just when Ema and Allen thought they would be out of place, they were quickly proved wrong. Ukyo and Iori took care to talk more often to Allen, never leaving him feeling awkward. Fuuto, of course, stuck to Allen like glue, acting as though he was an addict of the special drug Allen. Yuusuke stayed next to Ema like a bodyguard, hardly speaking unless she initiated the conversation, always looking away and sneaking glances at her. The other brothers flocked around, talking to anyone and no one. The party was a success: everyone enjoyed themselves and had fun.

The moon was soon shining bright in the black sky: after the table was cleared, the brothers all retreated to their rooms with the exception of a few of the older ones and Subaru. Ema and Juli too went to bed; Tsubaki and Kaname dragged Allen with them to the sofa, pouring drinks to go around. "Here you go," Tsubaki forced Allen to hold a glass of golden liquid, smiling devilishly with his eyes closed. Bemused, Allen complied and took a small sip from the glass, resisting the urge to cough from the burning in his throat. The following small chat went over his head; his entire mind was mush, he couldn't quite differentiate who was talking; his body felt light and heavy, since when was there a pillow next to him? Before he knew it, he was leaning heavily unto Kaname's side, eyes half closed, cheeks a rosy shade of red, breathing deeply. Sound travelled slowly to his ears; he was floating amidst his own world. He was on a high, at least he was still in the clouds until he heard something that sent him diving headfirst to the ground.

"No way, that's disgusting. She* just joined the family and she's already got our brothers around her fingers. That person* definitely has motives, I'm not falling for her tricks," Subaru dealt out harshly to rebut Tsubaki's teasing that he had a romantic crush on Ema. Before the hothead could continue to insult his soon-to-be sister, he saw a glint of light from the side of his eye. As he grew morbidly quiet, the other brothers slowly turned their attention to the birthday boy, curious as to what cut his rant short. Their blood grew ice cold once their eyes fell upon a heart stopping sight.

Allen was still slouching next to Kaname whose face suddenly seemed to be much paler than before. His eyes were still not fully open, and his facial muscles were slack, giving off the impression that he was drowsy and near sleep. However, his fingers twirled metal deftly, light glinting off the edge of the blade. He continued to lead the knife in an intricate dance, eyes on his person in both awe and fright. Softly he spoke, as though his words were that about the weather rather than the threat they were.

Breathily; "If you would like to talk about me, I* don't particularly mind. But if it's Chi you're talking about, I** won't stay still."

Wood cracked under the pressure; the knife pierced the table with a hard stab. The fist still holding onto the handle led up to a grinning Allen, but with the light shed upon his face, it seemed as though a wild wolf was baring its teeth to its prey. Shivers ran down their spines as silver eyes seemed to glow bright in the dark, Allen smiling deceptively sweetly with a "sorry, my hand slipped". Though he looked at only Subaru, the others could sense the underlying message: **Touch Ema and you are dead.** It applied for all of them, no matter who or what they were.

The air was harder to breathe in; it took all their strength to refrain from twitching a single muscle, to control their breathing. Fear was instilled into their very beings at the sight of an on-the-edge Allen.

The hearts in their throats were allowed back in their chests when a phone rang and Allen reached into his pocket to answer. Without tearing his eyes away from Subaru's, he slowly picked up the call. "Hello? This is Hyuuga Seiya."

As the call lengthened beyond a few words of exchange, Allen's posture's underlying tension was gone and he finally relaxed his hold on the knife. Letting go, the brothers could see that the sharp deadly weapon was merely a blunt palette knife, that had looked intimidatingly life threatening in Allen's hold.

"Ah, I get it Ran. I'll see you soon then."

A beep; the call had ended. Subaru flinched when Allen stood up and stalked over to face him, and grabbed the front of his shirt, pushing him up to the back of the sofa forcefully. With their faces mere millimetres apart, all he could see were wide metallic grey eyes staring into his soul. "Make a wrong move and I won't hesitate to make mine."

Just as sudden as it appeared, the wild look in his eyes disappeared. Back to his soft self, he excused himself, "Kyo-nii, I have some work to do in the studio room, so I won't be home tonight. I'll probably be back by dinner, so please don't worry." He bowed, and walked up the stairs to the second floor, leaving a mess behind.

* * *

 

Allen sighed soundlessly. He shouldn't have harboured hope so fast, too soon. With a group this big to fit into, there was bound to be a few accepting ones and then there was bound to be a few against the arrangement.

_I hoped that at least Chi wouldn't have to deal with this... I'll have to keep it from her._

As soon as he had that notion in mind, he saw a shadowy figure standing listlessly at the indoor balcony on the second floor. With a heavy heart, Allen knew that Ema had heard everything. Why she left the bedroom, he didn't know, but he didn't need to bet his life to know that she was horribly hurt and more cynical than before. He clenched his fists tight.

_(Why can't I protect her from even this?)_

He didn't want to alarm her; he called out softly, "Chi? What happened? You can't sleep?"

Maybe this would keep things in place a bit, by playing things cool, keeping mum and pretending things were just as they were before.

Her eyes were dewy, a shiny chocolate. Her lips were wet and overly red. Her smile was shaky, her voice wavering. "I just..." She faltered. "I left my phone on the sofa."

The ground floor was far too silent.

Allen stared, with sadness in his eyes, then smiled as though that was the only thing he could do. Maybe it was. "Don't worry, I'm sure Subaru-san saw it and is on the way to pass it to you."

Ema looked at her brother in confusion. Downstairs, rustling and shooing could be heard, and a dark grey head of hair soon peeked out from the bottom of the stairs. Understanding lit up her eyes. Knowing she couldn't do anything else, she smiled wryly and hugged Allen. "Make sure to have enough sleep and not stay up all night," she whispered. "Drive safe."

Allen just closed his eyes.

_Maybe this will be the last time I get a hug like this._

When the elevator doors closed, he saw a lone pair close together, a hand passing a rectangular device to another, the owner's face facing the floor.

* * *

 

He left the elevator with his jacket in hand, bag slung across his torso. Footsteps echoed along the entranceway, stopping at the main gate of the residence. Glinting silver met stormy grey. The dark grey haired male stood straight from where he had been leaning against the side of the gate. Dark clouds separated, allowing the moonlight to shine through.

His brows furrowed together, Subaru managed to say out almost painfully, "I'm sorry." Not needing to hear any explanation or excuses, Allen just nodded and walked past him.

Subaru's shoulders sagged, and he rubbed the back of his head, face a picture of torment. The revving of an engine could be heard resonating in the night. Before he went back into the house with a heavy spirit, he felt a tug at his jacket sleeve. The apologetic man turned and was disarmed by a helpless smile.

"Good night, Subaru-nii."

And he drove off on his bike; the engine overpowering the soft "thank you".

_Maybe Ranmaru will give me some much needed cuddles while we work later._

* * *

 

Subaru stood alone in the cold of the night, befuddled.

What's the difference in how his heart beat when he heard Ema compliment him and when he saw the way Allen smile, when the organ beat the same and danced to the same rhythm?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> Cyclamen flowers: departure/a sorrowful resignation  
> Dandelions: a wish of happiness for the recipient and a promise of complete and utter faithfulness  
> The song used is Closer by Joe Inoue. :)  
> She* That person*: the word used here in Japanese is あいつ, aitsu, which means she/he  
> I*: 私, watashi, a more formal way of saying I  
> I**: 俺, ore, a coarser and more masculine way of saying I  
> \--  
> Author’s note:  
> I’m sorry if some things when written in English, sound a bit confusing. I’m not a native Japanese speaker myself, but most of the time I do speak out these fictional conversations mentally in Japanese, so please forgive me and tell me if there’s something wrong with the sentence structure or the conveyance of the meaning! I hope you also enjoyed this chapter :)


	3. Chapter Three

A hand pulled the covers over his head, trying to block out the sunlight in his eyes. But the attempt was in vain; they were pulled back down to his waist immediately, giving Allen no reprieve from the blinding light. Whining slightly, he turned and hid his face in a hard chest, hands gripping the shirt beneath his face. A sigh could be heard before the silence was broken softly.

"Hyuuga-san, Kurosaki-san, it's already time to wake up."

No response was given aside from Ranmaru groaning and moving his right arm from against his side to draping it across Allen's shoulders. Ren tried to suppress his laughter: Ranmaru had his head on his folded left arm, with Allen beneath his right arm, snug against his chest, the two seemingly melded together. With the duvet out of the way, it was visible that Allen was wearing overly huge clothes that hung low. Their legs were also entangled together, making the two seem closer than just friends. _Should he risk taking a picture?_ Sneaking a peak at the dozing pair, Ren took a photo of them with his phone and sent it to the group chat Starish, Quartet Night and the little lamb shared, snickering.

Tokiya resigned himself to the fact that he was surrounded by irresponsible, perfectly capable adults. He tried to shake them awake, but Allen just shrugged his hand away, pleading sleepily, "Just five more minutes, Juli." Ranmaru continued to pull the petite male in, almost as if he wanted Allen to hide beneath his skin. After twitching a bit, they both relaxed again in their new positions and continued dozing.

Unable to stand it any further, Ren just faced away and shook with silent laughter. Who could have known that the tough bad-boy rocker Kurosaki Ranmaru could be such a teddy bear in his sleep and that the cool stoic Hyuuga Seiya could be such a cute little thing off stage? As he relaxed enough, Tokiya couldn't help but smile, seeing the humour in the situation as well. With the sleepy atmosphere, the two juniors could feel themselves relaxing further and resisting the urge to yawn. Just as they began to blink slower and longer than before, they heard footsteps nearing and quickly stood aside. Camus neared the group, and frowned in irritation as he saw the two still sleeping. His frown deepened and his eyes became more glacial when he saw how physically intimate they were. With the glass of water in hand, the blonde stood next to Ranmaru, and dumped it on his face.

Spluttering, the grey-haired male jumped up, wiping his face fiercely with his sleeves. He glared at Camus angrily, shrugging off Allen’s arms. The dark-haired male grabbed a nearby pillow to replace his personal teddy bear. He hugged it tight, nuzzling his face into the downy pillow, almost enamoured with its softness. With all the movements he made, the oversized shirt slid off his shoulder, baring the milky skin beneath, his hair a black blue halo around him. It was as if he were a fallen angel, untouched by troubles and pure from the sins of the world. Almost reluctantly, Ranmaru brushed hair away from Allen's face as he softly called out his name, with gentle eyes. Allen tried to hide his face again but the persistent calling finally woke him up, opening his eyes. Blinking slowly for a few long moments, silver eyes started to narrow. A cup full of steaming hot coffee was swiftly given to him before he could fully awaken by Camus, a practice long instilled in him. In a few quick gulps, the tense body immediately relaxed, and quietly, he greeted the others.

"Good morning."

Varying responses were given.

"Morning." Injected with a yawn, it was lazily said.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-san."

"Good morning, little kitten."

"Hurry up and go wash up. You might not have any work, but the rest of us do."

Heart slightly aching, Allen pretended not to hear and stretched. He then got up on his two feet and took his time putting on his clothes, feet bare on the cold floor. Hair tied up, bag packed, jacket on, he yawned again. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, sitting back on the edge of the bed. Ranmaru had laid back, leaning against the headboard, without any intention of leaving his comfort zone.

Tokiya tidied up the music sheets on the dining table into a neat pile, and passed the file to Allen. "Here, Hyuuga-san. Thank you for coming over so suddenly last night," he said apologetically.

The four of them had been brainstorming for lyrics for their unit song, and just as they had been about to call it a night, Ren came up with the first line. After that, the whole idea snowballed, so they called Allen over, not wanting to miss the chance and inspiration while they still had it. This time, Haruka had been helping Otoya's group with their new piece, so Allen was in charge of composing the music for theirs. He had been a great help, he even assisted in the lyrics, making sure the meaning they wanted to convey could be easily understood by the audience. When they were finally finished with the first and second draft, the raven-haired male had already been nodding off, and had been carried to bed by Ranmaru. The juniors were left to crash on the couch, Camus sleeping in the guest bedroom. Tokiya and Ren had a lot to learn from Hinata Allen, or rather Hyuuga Seiya, which they normally called him in case they were overheard by the media or slipped up _. As I thought, our seniors are really amazing. It's fascinating how Hyuuga-san, Kurosaki-san and Camus-san can all be so different offstage._

"It wasn't a problem at all, in fact you called at a good time."

They had to lift an eyebrow at that: his tone had been noticeably darker than usual, filled with emotion, eyes blanker. It must have been something big to affect him this much, especially when he had the reputation of not showing much of his emotions. Most likely it involved his sister that he always gushed about, no matter how much he denied (which he didn't). Leaving that aside, Ren took a look at the clock on the wall. His eyes widened, and he nudged Tokiya.

"Please excuse us, gentlemen, but we have an interview session to get to. We'll catch you soon!"

They each nodded at the three seniors, and excused themselves. Before they left the apartment, Ren and Tokiya found Allen trailing behind, lacing his shoes. Cocking his head, the dark haired idol asked, "Hyuuga-san, you're leaving as well?"

"Un," came the almost absent-minded reply.

"Why? Didn't you want to stay for brunch with the other seniors, little kitten?"

He simply hitched his bag up on his back, covering a yawn with his hand. "Who knows, Ran kicked me out. He said he needed to talk to Myu alone."

The STARISH members just shared a knowing, albeit troubled look with one another behind Allen's back, and followed him out the door. As the door closed, the echoes of constrained yelling could be heard through the entrance.

_Hopefully both of them will still be alive when we meet up again._

* * *

 

Ears pricked as they caught the sound of heavy stomping from the upper level. Intrigued, Allen saw Fuuto being dragged away by Yuusuke out of the elevator in a headlock as he walked up the stairs. As he went by without being noticed by the preoccupied bickering brothers, he reached his room, knocking before he entered.  Ema was at the desk, midway through writing when she welcomed her brother back warmly.

"Welcome back, you must be tired from working. Did you have enough rest?"

"Un, I did. What's this you're working on?" He picked up the paper that was not yet complete, skimming through what was already written.

Allen couldn't help but let out a sound of admiration. "Meiji University? Hohh, you've thought far ahead."

Smiling with a troubled expression, Ema continued to stay quiet, deep in thought as she tapped her pen on the desk. He put the paper back on the table, and sat on his bed. His eyes were on Ema, head facing her while his body faced his front. Legs were dangling and kicking in a slow rhythm, thoughts racing madly.

His stare was filled with many different emotions: pride, resignation, worry. Allen wondered, was it time for him to ready himself to be a less important part of Ema's life? There was undoubtedly chemistry between Yuusuke and she; the number of times he had caught them together blushing was already reaching its thirties within the week of their living together. The Asahinas were accepting her well; her wish for a bigger family was being granted. She was intelligent and well-liked; he was no longer approached for company as much as he had been. Time was no longer on his side as it had been those years ago; she was growing up and moving on while he was still stuck in the past. Even without him around, Ema was developing into a fine independent lady. She didn't need a hovering brother anymore.

It wasn't the first time these thoughts crossed his mind. But it had been long since he last thought so much. Perhaps the realization that Ema had already planned out her future, however whimsically, hit him harder than he would've thought it would. Was he bitter? He couldn't tell. He only ever felt so deeply when a loved one was concerned; needless to say even those numbers were few, and the experiences more so. It didn't help either that his brooding sometimes worried Ema, though only she could tell. Had he been nothing but a burden to her all this time, and had he continued being one without noticing? 

He couldn't help it though. He didn't want to be alone. As much as he was a loner at times, distanced from the masses, he couldn't entirely cut himself off from the sister he doted upon. Try as he may, he wouldn't, he _couldn't_. Allen didn't want to be swarmed with his own loneliness again.

Suddenly, Allen could hear a distinct sound of scratching and gasping from the corner of the room. Silently, he was relieved that something had broken his trance; he couldn't have Ema worrying needlessly about him when she had a goal to work towards. She didn't have the time, at the moment she had to focus on her upcoming entrance exams. After looking around curiously and then anxiously after realizing Juli was not around, he quickly opened the zipped bag that he spotted, revealing a breathless grey critter that started chattering wildly as soon as he saw Allen.

"Sei, you wouldn't believe what that mongrel did to Chi, he practically threatened her—" Quick footsteps shut his mouth in an instant; Juli had always been weak to Ema's angry looks.

Ema relaxed her tense facial features, sighing in either exasperation or helplessness before retorting. "Juli, you used to always tell us to not manipulate the truth." The simple statement made the long-time companion wince and hunch his shoulders inwards. She then turned to face her befuddled but amused brother, and explained what really happened.

"Fuuto-san just came in to talk about you. He really likes you a lot," a twinkle was shining in her eyes when she said it with a smile. Pink rose in his warm cheeks. "What did you talk about?" he coughed out.

Widening her eyes and smile, Ema continued. "At first he was talking about punishing me for ruining his disguise at the media rental store just now, then we watched a movie. Well, I think he was just stalling some time because he kept glancing at me.

"Then he finally started to ask some questions, like, 'what's your relationship with Yoru like?', 'do you spend a lot of time together?'. He even bragged to me, that 'Yoru prefers Chopin to Mozart, I bet you didn't know that did you'. Things of the like."

As Allen's cheeks were further suffused with colour, Juli couldn't seem to keep quiet. "You missed out how he basically taunted you about him going to get closer to Sei, and that he was going to make Sei forget you," he grunted out, arms folded and eyes glaring at the empty space beside him.

Head shot up, metallic eyes scoured Ema's face worriedly, scrutinizing and analysing every frown and wrinkle. Chocolate brown eyes softened, and soft smooth pale hands took hold of scarred discoloured ones as she sat next to Allen the next moment. With a few soft spoken words, they seemed to sweep away his concerns; "It's fine, I know it's not true", and a stretch of the pink lips over white teeth.

Allen smiled weakly and Ema grinned back, going back to filling the form.

Scribbling could be heard in the room, dark eyes lingered on her form.

 _(Please don't think I would ever leave you behind... Who knows; maybe_ you _will be the one to forget_ me _without help...)_

* * *

A week after the conversation with Ema, the room was occupied by only the idol. He sat on his bed, feet firmly rooted on the ground, mouth in a frown and brows narrowed, arms crossed. Allen had been debating; should he ask Kaname outright about how the parent-teacher meeting went that day, or be less obvious about his intentions? There was a risk that Kaname would tell Ema what he asked him: he couldn't chance being seen as overbearing. He wanted Ema to still enjoy his company instead of finding him too much of a bother. Troubled, Allen placed his crooked index finger on his chin and his thumb under, the other hand supporting the elbow, frown deepening. Unable to come to a decision, he sighed out loud, attracting Juli's attention.

Juli had his furry head cocked to the side as he stared up at Allen's hesitant face after jumping up unto his lap. His question came out in a strong voice, unwavering. "Sei? Are you alright?" Juli never did like beating around the bush, nor did he even have any sense of subtlety, Allen thought fondly.

Softly, he replied, "It's nothing important, I'm just wondering what I should do for something, that's all.”

Juli didn't say anything in response, just grabbed a hand and nuzzled his face into it, his bright pink and white ribbon a distinct contrast with the pale skin. The next statement he made touched Allen's heart, no matter how much he may not fully believe in it.

"Don't worry too much! Me and Chi* will always support you no matter what, so just follow your heart!"

The only response he could come up with was a smile that hid his teary eyes, and gentle strokes down the squirrel's soft docile fur from his head to his back.

He never saw the blank eyes under soft brown hair outside the door, looking through a gap into the bedroom, fists clenched and knuckles white. He never heard the slow breath let out through gritted teeth, and the slow closing of caramel eyes before opening to show steel resolve shining bright and clear.

He only thought about how Ema smiled and laughed more than before, even around him as well.

_Maybe, just maybe, I can still be a part of her happy family..._

* * *

Allen shook his head to pull himself away from the memory; he couldn't afford to lose focus on such an important rehearsal. Just in time, he caught his cue to sing with all the others, and the last note came out near perfectly.

"Our dream...!"

The music stopped, the singers drew out their last line, breath taken away, panting heavily. Slowly, each of them relaxed, smiling uncontrollably when they saw the bright happy silver eyes directed their way, and the blinding grin. They didn't get to see that often, other than Ranmaru, so they savoured the sight every time they got to see it. Reiji let out a whoop, cheering, "We're sure to have it perfect on the day itself now!"

Ai butted in, "If you don't commit any more mistakes on your left-right coordination, I'm sure we'll look perfect.”

Miffed at his being the target again, Reiji threw a small tantrum, quibbling with Ai with his brows furrowed. But it was not very convincing; he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Unable to stop himself, the blonde gave his two cents as well. "Reiji, you need to be less showy as well, you're putting everyone else off." Sniffing at Camus, Reiji started to sulk in a corner, growing mushrooms in his dark space as the group liked to refer to his brooding as.

Ranmaru let out an exasperated sigh, before he smiled crookedly at Allen. "I'm sure your new mother will like the performance, especially since you're the one who composed it." This made the black-haired male blush a little, and say modestly, "It's because it's you four are helping so much, she really loves your singing."

"And I bet you never told her you helped compose most of the songs."

Allen shrugged a bit, eyes looking away with his cheeks puffed up playfully, laughing when he was caught in a headlock and had his head knuckled by Ranmaru.

When the others saw the two of them horsing around, Reiji just pulled Ai towards them and all of them into a group hug. Camus tried to escape but failed, and ended up pushed next to Allen. While Ai and Ranmaru struggled to leave and Reiji forced them to stay, Camus could only stare at the way Allen laughed brightly, the bell-like laughter ringing clear in his ears and his heart.

* * *

The same day, but nearing twelve in the morning, Allen heard Ema apologizing profusely as he walked into the living room. Standing in front of her was a tall woman with long beautiful auburn hair, or rather, after scrutinizing the person long enough, he realized she was a _he_ instead. The cross dresser was laughing away Ema's apologies, while Ukyo was looking on with a bemused and exasperated expression. He cocked his head to the side questioningly, and neared the trio somewhat cautiously.

Ukyo saw him first; he smiled gently and welcomed Allen home. "Welcome back, Allen-kun. Thank you for your hard work today; I think this is your first time meeting Hikaru as well?"

Before Allen could show any acknowledgment, he was soon swept into a tight hug, face in a head of red-gold hair that had a sweet fragrance of amaryllis flowers*.  His face grew warm, and Hikaru pushed Allen slightly away from himself to look at him more closely. He gave a big friendly grin, "Hello, you have to be my new cute brother, Allen right?"

"Y-yes, pleased to meet you. I'm Hinata Allen, please take care of me in the future." Allen had been caught off-guard at first but managed to give a decent greeting. Hikaru seemed like a carefree person to Allen, but also very mischievous, judging from the wide sharp grin he had on when he saw the way Ukyo welcomed him back. Why he did so, he didn't necessarily understand but Allen was without doubt intrigued by the air of masculinity coming from the individual clad in feminine clothing.

His train of thought was disturbed by another warm welcome home, and he turned to face Ema, and gave a tender smile, a bud of worry blossoming in his chest when he saw the bags under her eyes. He reached out to brush stray hairs away from her eyes, and chided, "You shouldn't be up so late, you haven't been sleeping well these few days right?"

A slight pink creeping up her cheeks, Ema smiled guiltily, before her expression cleared up to reveal what seemed to be embarrassment, glancing at Ukyo and Hikaru before looking down again, face going redder. She skied away from his touch a bit, face a pure red by then. The motion didn't seem like anything much, just a normal teenage reaction to affection from family. But it felt like someone had stabbed him right through his chest; his heart died and for a moment he thought he was going to collapse.

Did even his very concern burden her, so much so that the embarrassment overwhelmed her and she couldn't meet anyone's eyes? Did he do anything that brought her shame? Allen couldn't remember; maybe he did and Ema had just been her usual kind generous self, forgiving him for his transgressions. Ema had never given any indications that his affection and care was unwanted; she would always smile at him brightly and lovingly in return whenever he was worried about her, she even seemed to enjoy his worrying too.

He could see Ema mouthing why she was still up, he couldn't hear anything though, all he could hear was the blood rushing through his body as though rushing to save his halted heartbeat. He could feel himself responding the way he would have were he fully conscious of his actions, but he couldn't tell how he did it; he had no control over his mind and body, they were two separate entities opposing one another.

While Allen may have felt years and decades and eras pass by, the only visible reaction he had was a short pause and a slight fading of colour in his face after Ema had blushed in embarrassment and guilt for causing her brother worry. Normally, such a reaction wouldn't have been noticed because of the short time frame that it appeared in; but Ukyo and Hikaru both caught it. Ukyo had been the elder brother of eleven moody teenagers, he had learnt how to tell what people felt from the little tells in their actions and behaviours. Hikaru was a novelist, he had to be observant enough to look beyond the surface and catch all the details he needed to expand on his ideas for stories. Hikaru didn't doubt that Ema didn't know her brother was reacting so, or even the reason behind it. So he did the only thing he could as a newly introduced sibling.

Hikaru lifted up two rectangular white boxes, winking at the Hinata siblings. "Here is a gift of love~" he sang, shaking the parcels gently, as though tempting a young child to give him the attention he wanted. The result was what he desired: both Ema and Allen looked up at him, chocolate eyes widening more so than silver, but both full of warm emotions, before they had got the presents in their hands, gently touching and feeling the smoothness of the cover.

Ukyo and Hikaru exchanged a look: of relief or concern or both. They both had a creeping feeling that Allen was not all he seemed to be, and that needed to be dealt with _quick_ , before the history repeated itself.

* * *

Pale petal pink silk and frills and black lace were what Ema fished out of her box from Miwa. A dress for the wedding, beautifully modest and breath-taking in its simplicity, it took Ema's heart away. She smiled widely, cheeks rosy red, happiness bubbling over, becoming almost tangible to the touch. She'd never remembered anything of her late mother, not even her appearances. All she had were photos from the past, and now she had a mother who she could see feel touch, who gave her presents like she saw many other children's mothers did in her childhood. She always kept mum of her jealousy, and now she had all she wanted. Ema had a doting father and an amazing brother, and now she had a loving mother and thirteen other welcoming brothers. Hinata Ema couldn't think of anything else she could ever want for; except perhaps a future with a certain redhead. She hugged the dress, bringing it near her face, savouring the knowledge that she was very soon gaining a mother of her own.

She looked over to her brother in his bed, and saw him in a similar stupor as she was in. _Sei must feel the same; how long we've wanted for a mother's love..._

Unknown to Ema, she couldn't have missed any more than she had; Allen did feel the same wonder she did, but on a much lesser degree, guilt was the primary emotion felt instead. He felt like he couldn't keep it in, but he had to. It ate at him, and threatened to make him heave up all his insides; he was so close to vomiting.

The blazer was a deep black, the dress shirt a dark navy blue that complemented his eyes and the tips of his hair, made of a soft material, that shone in the light but didn't blind. There was even a violet tie with intricate patterns on it along with the outfit. Truly, he couldn't feel more grateful than he did, and he couldn't feel any more guilt and self-loathing than he did as well.

Allen shot a soft smile at Ema, and then stared at the package on his lap again blankly. She seemed almost aglow with happiness, he took note of almost dispassionately. _She could've gotten this years ago, but I..._

_(I ruined everything.)_

Juli smiled elatedly at the two, overjoyed by how his two charges looked so happy over their first gift from their soon-to-be mother. He preferred to ignore the niggling notion that Allen wasn't feeling as positively as he hoped; he wanted to focus on the good of the future and move on from any negativity.  "Don't forget to thank Rintarou and Miwa when you see them!" 

There was an enthusiastic reply from the young girl deprived of motherly love. Allen just picked up the package, and touched it almost hesitantly again.

"I will," his fringe fell to cover his eyes, and his lips spread into a wavering smile. "I will."

* * *

**Knock Knock**

Allen was still slipping his tie into position, whereas Ema was done with tidying her dress. She heard the rapping on the door, and opened it. Peeking his head in was Louis, who was smiling and holding his equipment bag up. "Good morning, Chi-chan, Sei-kun." 

"Good morning, Louis-san!”

"Good morning Louis-nii."

"You both look fabulous," Louis complimented sincerely, making Ema blush slightly in delight and Allen's smile reach his eyes a bit more. "But," he continued, "since you're wearing a dress and a suit, can I help you touch up with some makeup and hair styling?" He smiled in assurance, as though worried that the two were doubtful of his skills.

An hour later, Ema had her hair done, with pink blush and peach lipstick on. Louis kept her make up simple, not wanting to exaggerate her features too much and risk ageing her. Simplicity was in itself a beauty after all. She sat on her bed patiently, hands at her sides, watching as her brother had his hair styled. Plaits were pinned up against his head, magical hands combed midnight black hair, tying up the bottom of pearlescent blue hair in a cerulean silk ribbon.

By the end of their makeover, it was as though they had walked straight out of a magazine featuring a boutique. Ema had her soft brown hair half-down with pearls and a single pink rose separating her fringe, and a cream scarf around her neck pinned by yet another pink rose, her neck draped with pearls and beads. Her lips tinted with soft lipstick, cheeks dabbed with a bit of blush to bring life to her face, and her lovely dress of pink and black lace completed the picture of a young sweet bridesmaid, excited for the wedding.

Allen had his black hair down, sleek plaits intertwining amidst the fall, finally ending off with a silk ribbon that had a dark blue rose pinned on. He was dressed smartly in his suit, decked in his theme colours of black and blue. A bright electric blue rose in his breast pocket attracted most of one's attention, the shade so unusual and vivid amidst the darker colours. He stood still, back straight, the very epitome of a handsome groomsman, ready to witness and celebrate the happy occasion.

When Allen looked themselves in the mirror, he could only stare in silence for a few long moments. _No wonder Louis-nii is a renowned stylist,_ he thought as he admired the reflection of a true masterpiece. Briefly hearing Ema giving her thanks, he absent-mindedly relayed his gratitude to Louis, eyes still on the mirror, voice quiet.

He couldn’t quite articulate how he felt: he couldn’t relate to the person he sees in the looking glass. He tried reaching out, but stopped just before his hand touched the cold surface of his cheek.

The brunette giggled at Juli’s dramatic swooning upon seeing her, while Allen took the chance to touch his reflection almost weakly. _This… is me?_

Unbeknownst to Allen, Louis was staring at him the whole time. Images of the silkiness of black blue hair, the paleness of skin, the softness of silver eyes couldn’t stop running through his mind – all as he wondered how they would feel against his own fingertips.

* * *

The beautiful bride hugged Ema, gushing over her cuteness. As the two women conversed, full of warmth and joy, the two men stood slightly aside, watching on with smiles. Soaking in the warm atmosphere, Allen sneaked a glance at Rintarou, wondering what he felt amidst all this. Papa used to skip out on all the larger scaled events in order to spend more time with the children at home; he only went to those where both children were free and they would go as a trio. He did very much prefer the wildness of the unknown parts of the world but it didn't make him any better a socialite.

But Rintarou didn't show any discomfort on his face: only contentment and love could be felt seeping out his entire being. There were no worry lines creasing his face, only laugh lines and smiles wrinkled his features. He looked on with pure joy, shining as brightly as the moon on a cloudless night. With that solid fact out in the open, Allen's last withstanding worry fell like a shabby wooden gate to a gale storm. Whatever resistance he may have had before collapsed. His father couldn’t be happier than he was, it was obvious from the radiance Rintarou gave out. Allen’s shoulders felt lighter; a huge weight had been relieved from him, one that he didn’t consciously know he had.

The happy groom felt the weight of a stare on him and looked over to his son, smiling gently with the warmth of the sun on a spring day. His big kind hand ruffled Allen’s black hair, with soft chocolate eyes. Allen felt as though he was transported back in time, when Papa would welcome him home after school every day without fail, even when he was met with nothing but silence. Now, he could meet Papa’s gaze head on, in spite of the niggling guilt he would always have haunting him his whole life.

Without any words, just a pat on the head, Allen could hear the words Rintarou said: _thank you for this day_. Even though tears didn’t well up in his eyes, Allen could feel the soothe of his words, and his heart was twisted in a merciless grip. His shoulders were further relaxed, no longer the straightness and tautness of a jaded adult, but the freeness of a child tied down by no chains. He gave back a weak grin, too full of emotions to be able to convey them all with just one expression.

Rintarou’s eyes widened, seemed to be blurred before they cleared, and he turned away from Allen after he gave another soft pat on the head, beckoned by the call of his soon-to-be bride. As the groom left to join his daughter and bride, Allen looked on from the side, heart both wrenched and lifted at the sight of the happy family. He gave himself a wry smile, before allowing himself to depart his post when his name was called out brightly by the beautiful family.

From his spot on the dressing table, Juli beamed as he observed the family portrait being taken.

 _Such a wonderful family full of love and joy for the occasion_ , he thought brightly. But then his thoughts took a melancholic turn. _If only no one was hurting…_

* * *

The inside of the church reminded Allen of the olden days; long aisles adorned with roses of different colours, baby's breath and calla lilies filling in the gaps in the bouquet, satin ribbons bridging the benches together and white as the predominant colour in the entire hall. There were engraving on the walls; murals that were faded in colour, that depicted the romantic future weddings beheld, with cupids and angels overlooking loving couples with bouquets and trumpets in their hands to celebrate. The immense detailing put into the whole paradise took Allen's breath away. To top it all off, the stained glass at the very top of the back of the hall shone a picture on the ground when the sunlight hit it; of tulips that were red yellow pink – the embodiment of perfect love.

Rintarou used to share with his children that perfect love didn't mean the pair didn't have arguments or disagreements, but rather it meant complete acceptance of each other's flaws and virtues, and the presence of the desire to better each other as well. Perfect love meant having a safe haven, a sanctuary where one could retreat to whenever desired. One would never be left behind, and the two partners would always stick together through thick and thin, supporting one another. Having grown up with this ideal in mind, Allen couldn't help but feel extremely grateful, that his beloved father _finally_ got the chance to experience this vision of love that he held dear to his heart. To be there on the day his Papa's dream came true was nothing short of exhilarating, though slight jealousy and more longing did come into play. Allen too wished to encounter a love like Rintarou did, for someone to love him for his self and embrace all of his self. He didn’t want to continue living as he did, with his soul dreary from the world.

Nonetheless, as Allen smoothed out his blazer and accounted for his looks, in his mind he thanked anyone and everyone that made this event possible, that made Rintarou able to experience his true love. One of his few wishes in life was being fulfilled; his beloved Papa was getting his happy ending. All he had to do left was to ensure that the happy ending turned into another happy beginning and a happily ever after, and for Ema to get hers too, and his work would be done. All the people he ever cared for would get what they deserved: happiness.

Allen was still caught up in his derived delight, when he realised there was a man standing in front of the altar. The man had orange hair, he was tall and lithe, with the figure of an athlete (or at least someone who did exercise regularly), and a handsome silhouette. _He has nice broad shoulders, with a strong back…_

The man called out to him in a harsh tone, scaring Allen out of his thoughts. While the idol had been caught up in his observations, he had accidentally taken too loud a step, notifying the male of another presence.

“Who are you? Only the immediate family members are allowed in here,” the orange-haired man almost seemed to bark out the words, such was his disgruntlement. Before Allen could even think of a response, the doors opened again, giving the maid of honour entrance into the hall. The stranger (or a new brother, an inner voice supplied) glared at Ema as well, frustrated with the growing number of strangers who did not know the concept of family privacy. “You, both of you, need to leave. This is not open to the public.”

Thankfully before the two befuddled teenagers could get kicked out of their father’s exchanging of vows, Tsubaki’s voice ran throughout the hall. “Oh Natsume, you really need to get your knickers untwisted.”

As though that was a joke, snickers could be heard with the appearance of the twelve other brothers. They all had expressions of amusement whether faint or predominant, but one sullen face stood out in Allen’s eyes. _Subaru-nii doesn’t seem very happy…_

The bright-haired male just sighed in annoyance, seeming to understand that he was the butt of a joke that he didn’t even know about. “I should’ve known you had some part in it. So who are these two?” His tone was less harsh than before, but still hard nonetheless. Allen cleared his throat lightly; he didn’t enjoy being treated as though he and his sister were mere air. He smiled coolly, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Hinata Allen and she’s my sister, Hinata Ema. I believe you must be Asahina Natsume, the seventh son, Tsuba-nii and Azu-nii’s younger fraternal triplet?”

“Nii? Ah, I’m sorry,” Natsume hurried to apologise. It seemed he had reached the only logical conclusion there was: that Allen and Ema were indeed his new siblings and had the right to be in the hall without being thrown out.

Allen started to speak in a stilted tone: he was not quite ready to forgive the man for scaring his sister so much she hid behind his back. “I require the details for the performance later on, do you have them?”

Flustered, and a bit annoyed at his apology being dismissed, Natsume replied, “Yes, just wait a moment.”

While that was going on, the other brothers couldn’t help but harbour menacing amusement and just a pinch of pity for Natsume.

After the documents of the place’s arrangement and such were safely passed to the idol’s hands, Natsume scratched the back of his head. Hyuuga Seiya was definitely not what he had been expecting. Shuffling could be heard amidst the mild chatters of the others in the chapel who were entertaining themselves whilst waiting for the two to complete their transaction. Nodding his head, Allen walked towards Ema without looking ahead, intending to inform her how long he would be away from sight. That was what he meant to do, until he collided with a soft back.

He looked up and stared in somewhat pleasant surprise as he watched the brothers line up while smiling at the two Hinatas. Shrugging his shoulders, he exchanged a confused look with Ema, and turned back to the thirteen Asahinas in anticipation. Somehow, his heart was beating quick, and he could feel his cheeks heating up when he saw the smiles and grins the brothers gave him. Just him and not Ema.

Was he just imagining things? It seemed to him that eleven of them gave him special smiles, while Yuusuke stared back at only Ema, and Natsume was still being prickly.

Idly, Allen wondered why his pulse was increasing.

Like a silent cue had been given, the thirteen brothers, from the calm steady Masaomi to the excitedly jumping Wataru to the cool stoic Subaru to the overly passionate Yuusuke, spoke in synchronisation.

“Welcome to the Asahina family!”

Warmth spread throughout his body, and the very tips of his fingers tingled.

* * *

Allen finally escaped from his persistent father (who just kept wanting to know where he was going), and was walking to his room to change into the attire he had prepared for later. The rest of the group were staying in the suite room next to his, resting before the big event. Sighing, Allen walked past the hallway, trying to get to his room as quickly as possible to avoid people from connecting the missing Allen to the sudden appearance made by Seiya later. He was nearly in the lobby, until he saw Ema talking happily with Natsume, her cheeks flushed and her gestures highly animated. She only ever got this excited over video games, so Allen walked over in curiosity and a bout of protectiveness. After what had happened a few days back with Subaru and with Natsume in the chapel, Allen couldn’t quite shake off his protective tendencies just yet.

He made sure to put on a cheerfully bright smile, and sauntered towards the duo in a carefree manner. “Hey, what are you two doing here? Why aren’t you joining the festivities?”

The bright eyes Ema had when she looked up at him dug the knife deeper into his heart. “Seiya, you know that game that I keep playing? Natsume-san works at that company and he offered to give me some samples to try!”

Ah, the games that she loved and he hardly had the time to enjoy with her. He tried to share her excitement, “Aren’t you lucky? I’m sure you’ll have fun.” Natsume looked almost weirdly at him while Ema smiled happily at her brother.

A warm smile while he reminded his sister to go back to the party later evolved into a pair of colder eyes as he left.

Green eyes trailed after him.

_This is definitely an interesting development._

* * *

Ema walked around snapping shots of the different people that came for the wedding. _As expected, Papa and Miwa-san sure know a lot of people._ Wherever she walked, there were all these beautiful people who looked like runaway models (though she didn’t doubt that some of them were indeed real models). _And once again as expected, Sei would really fit in if he wasn’t so shy…_

**Click, Flash**

Perhaps it wasn’t a mystery why she loved taking photographs; Papa was always taking pictures of the places he’d been to and enjoyed spending time recounting his adventures with the fascinated Ema and Allen. She had always been the one sitting in Papa’s lap, excitedly listening and picking up the photographs while Allen had always sat at the side, his excitement more contained. _Sei had always been the mature one_ , Ema smiled wryly to herself.

Looking around, she searched for her beloved brother high and low, but to no avail. She did find Juli with Louis, almost boasting to him the new bright pastel purple ribbon he had on (that Ema supposed was bought by Sei), twirling around on his palms in different poses. After giggling into her hand, she continued walking around, taking her time as she admired the beauty around her.

The wedding ceremony had been beautiful, just perfectly the way she knew Papa and Miwa-san wanted. Ema and Allen had been the maid-of-honour and best man respectively, both the bride and groom had insisted. Her eyes had sparkled throughout the entire ceremony, basking in the new marital bliss the couple seemed to indulge in as well. She had turned to look at Allen to share her happiness, only to see that he had a soft smile on his lips, with glossy eyes. Yes, Ema was overjoyed, she finally had the family that she and her brother had dreamed of for years, and Papa finally had a partner he was head over heels for. What else could she ever want for?

Just as she thought that, she spotted a certain redhead staring at her, giggling when he turned away, flustered. Maybe she could soon have a partner of her own, who knows?

_But honestly, I see everyone around except him, where on earth could Sei be?_

Once she had finished her inner monologue, gasps could be heard. Guests around her started clapping, some ladies even squealing. Ema turned around curiously, and finally saw who she had been looking for the whole time.

She stood dumbfounded for a few short moments, and then in awe at her brother. _So_ that’s _what he was preparing for._

Seiya was standing on the white platform the staff had been preparing earlier, holding a microphone with both of his hands. His usual performance attire had been altered to suit the occasion: the bandages over his right eye were replaced by a vividly blue rose, his chains by a long necklace with a metal cross. Even his hair which had been carefully styled by Louis was restyled into a messy ponytail with plaits of varying sizes running down, and he had changed into a white tuxedo which had intricate blue lines decorating it.

He wasn’t the only one on the platform as well, his friends were at his sides, all of them dressed in white, even Ranmaru. All of them looked particularly handsome, but most of the eyes were on Hyuuga Seiya, who was renowned for never appearing in public if he could avoid it. He was one of the only idols who had forcefully insisted that his public and private life be separated, and so his private life was left for the public to fantasise about instead. To see him in real life outside of concerts was near impossible, and a real treat to the guests. To the Asahina brothers however, they were mostly intrigued by how Allen would look and act like, and were very much expecting something almost epic to happen.

Without any further ado, all of the idols softly breathed into their microphones, and music poured out from their hearts.

 

_All    Under the starlight, let’s find our love._

_Super lovers, you and I, oh baby!_

_Camus_ _The fragrance heightens with each season_

_Seiya          Why does it seem like time always flies by?_

_Ranmaru   So, too, does the meaning of a kiss grown deeper_

_Se               But when I’m with you, I’m burning inside._

_Reiji_ _The restlessly whispered calls of love_

_Se              I do not ever wanna leave your side._

_Ai_ _Taken out of the constraints of reality_

_All_ _When I can see you soon, even at a distance,_

_These feelings grow stronger every time_

_They fill me, ah… endlessly_

_All_ _Again tonight, it’s the greatest marriage of two_

_Here, shall we enjoy ourselves seated on the crescent moon?_

_Our future from now on and our dreams_

_Ra_ _Are an unexhausted story_

_All_ _In the shine under the starry sky,_

_Ai_ _Our song is_

_Re_ _Slowly filling love_ _’s glass_

_Ca_ _Even God is jealous of_

_All_ _Our dream!_

There was silence at first, then soft clapping, and finally ending off with a thunderous applause. Seiya’s face was flushed with pride as Ranmaru clapped his shoulder strongly. He looked over the crowd, his heart racing, and when he saw his new family clapping and cheering for him, and the tears in the very much touched Miwa-san’s eyes, and the pride in his beloved Papa’s posture, he forgot about his worries from earlier, and thought that he couldn’t feel happier.

* * *

 

Allen left the others in the public eye in the yard; after all they didn’t mind having their public personas mix in with their personal ones. He knew that Ranmaru, Reiji and Ai didn’t bother trying to hide their true characters (okay so maybe Ranmaru was less crude in public but still), although he did often wonder how Camus could so easily meld into his public persona when it was the complete opposite of his personality. So while he was busy trying to hide away from the onslaught of cameras and love confessions, the rest were simply enjoying their meal, indulging in the sweet rewards after their hard work. They didn’t receive _nearly_ as much as the attention he got nowadays, what with his apparently “mysterious” image the public had constructed for him.

Right after he finished changing back into the suit Miwa-san had gifted him, he tried to rush back to his sister. He could feel himself both emotionally distancing from Ema, yet clinging to her at the same time. _I guess seeing her with Natsume-san is messing with my head even more after everything else…_

As soon as he had joined back Ema, who had waved him over, he paused at the familiar sight of the thirteen brothers lining up. Fuuto smiled with his eyes lit up, “That performance was great! The reverb you did was awesome, and your composing is just as amazing as ever!” Blushing, Allen chuckled and teased him habitually, “Asacchi, if you don’t close your mouth, you’re gonna drool.” The others looked almost surprised with just how casual he was with Fuuto, but they didn’t understand how fond Allen was of Fuuto. Wataru also piped up, “Al-nii was really shining just now!” Allen bent down and ruffled the little pipsqueak’s hair, touched by the sincere compliment. The other brothers also praised his performance, further warming his heart, and pushing his almost needless worries out of his mind.

A cough interrupted them; Masaomi smiled warmly, and the Asahina brothers all looked at the two siblings. Ukyo was almost apologetic, “It is regrettable we could only do this now after the wedding, but it’s still inevitable.” Hikaru had an almost sly side-smile on as he rebutted, “It is precisely because of this event that we should.”

“Although it is a bit embarrassing,” Yuusuke began. “It is full of our sincere feelings,” finished Iori. A tiny hand raised up high; Wataru counted, “One, two…”

“Welcome to the Asahina family!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me and Chi*: I know grammatically it should be Chi and I, but I thought this suited Juli's character more, or at least it does with my interpretation of his personality.   
> Amaryllis: symbolic of splendid beauty; worth beyond beauty  
> Tulips: a declaration of love; fame and perfect love.  
> \- Pink: caring   
> \- Red: declaration of love   
> \- Yellow: hopelessly in love


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: So, this is really awkward. I was so confused by what the floor plan was for the Sunrise Residence, because it’s huge, and I just realised that I made a very big mistake. The kitchen, the living room, all of those are on the top floor, not the ground floor like I kept assuming throughout the entire time I wrote this work. Joke’s on me. So I’m debating between trying to fix the nitty gritty details from the start, continuing with the floor plan I imagined, or correcting myself from now on. I’m terribly sorry if I only confused you further with the already complicating (at least to me) floor plan. I’ll try to sort it out as well as I can, please forgive me for not having done enough research!
> 
> Also, my apologies to a certain person, Mato, for making them wait so long for a (not quite up to standard) chapter. Thank you for the support, and for making me actually keep on writing this chapter!

_It’s all your fault._

_It’s always your fault._

**_Your. Fault._ **

He woke up with a start, his heart racing, and sat up looking at his hands in his lap. Cold sweat ran down his temples, and he shivered slightly. His breath got caught in his chest for a few moments, and he slowly relaxed his clenched fists with a controlled exhale. He looked over to his left, and saw the still sleeping lump lying under rumpled pink covers, legs out in the open. _She’s still here._ He squeezed his eyes shut, before opening them again. He could feel the heavy and dark bags under his eyes. Sighing, he got out of his bed, and walked over to Ema’s side, covering her fully with her blanket. Eyes lingering on her, he bit his lower lip before leaving the room. _Maybe a warm beverage would calm me down._   

Taking the elevator, Allen looked down the entire time, too tired to keep up a happy front. The little sleep he got was no good, he could feel that the day was not going to be kind to him as well. Heaving yet another sigh, he stepped out of the elevator, and walked sluggishly towards the kitchen. A cup of coffee was in his plans, until he heard his name.

“Allen!”

A crash led to a thud. Rubbing the back of his head in pain, Allen wondered idly when such painful encounters would stop happening on a daily basis. A flash of annoyance rushed through his body when he saw the cheeriness on their faces, but he shoved it down his throat vehemently. He looked up at a flushed Tsubaki, and then the calmer, but similarly delighted Azusa standing behind his twin, and smiled at them confusedly. “I am happy that you’re so excited to see me, but did something happen?”

“‘Did something happen’, he asks. Listen to him talk! Nothing happened, only the most extrordinary, the most amazing, most wonderful announcement ever!”

“Well, he wouldn’t know if you keep talking like that,” Azusa rolled his eyes in exasperation, pulling his twin up from the ground while smiling apologetically at Allen. “We got news from our company, that our favourite anime was being renewed for a second season.”

“I auditioned for the main lead!” Tsubaki exclaimed, before pointing at the black-haired male with his thumb. “Azusa’s auditioned for the antogonist too.”

 _Cue the sparkly eyes._ Allen really wanted to be happy for them, but he could barely dredge up any energy to keep his smile up.

“And,” Tsubaki pipped. “It’s not just any favourite anime, it’s the one and only that inspired us to go into voice-acting. I can’t believe we actually get to do this!”

Tar in his throat made it hard for sounds to climb up, it was too slippery almost for any noise to escape. It clogged up his throat, and stuck his tongue up to the roof of his mouth, and he wished he could scratch it away, but experience told him it would be to no avail.

 _(Inspiration._ Inspiration _brought me here. My own dreams made me crash.)_

Allen blinked a bit, enough to see the twins staring at him in concern. “Allen, you look kinda pale there. You okay?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” A bashful smile their way and they are convinced. “I’m very happy for both of you, getting to play a part in something that inspired you… yes, that’s great.” The sunlight that shone through the window dimmed as clouds passed by, casting a dark shadow over a face, where dark pellets of silver glinted. Shivers ran down their spines, and Tsubaki and Azusa just watched Allen excuse himself back to his room, his shoulders hunched, head down. They shared yet another meaningful look, before going on with their usual work, albeit quietly.

Somehow, Allen always looked defeated to them. The air around him just screamed at them, and they wanted to help. They just felt this need to drag him out of it, before they saw someone they were beginning to know self-destruct.

But life got in the way.

Just as usual.

A phone rang.

“Hello? Okay, we’ll be right there. Let’s go, Azusa!”

* * *

He tried, he really did. But his foot still fell too heavily to the ground, causing a creak to sound. He tensed up, and pricked his ears to pick up on any sounds, relaxing when nothing came to his notice. Then he noticed how terribly he failed when he raised his head to find brown eyes looking at him blearily, followed by tiny black eyes.

Allen shrugged his shoulders lightly, a guilty smile on his face. “Oops?”

A light giggle and yawn were the responses he got, and his heart felt lightened. The nightmare from the darker days was being rushed away. _Sameness, that’s good._

“Sei, don’t you have any work today?” Ema asked while rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. A slight shake of the head, and her eyes immediately brightened. “Hmm, I don’t have anything on today either.”

A tiny squeaky voice suggested, “You should both spend some time together! It’s rare you both have nothing to do on the same day!”

Humming, she peeked at her brother shyly. The ice wall the nightmare reconstructed thawed slightly, and he casually looked over to the rest of their room. Spotting a game cover that looked familiar, like the one a certain ginger passed to Ema, he paused to look longer, and smiled at Ema. “How about we spend the day playing the game Natsume-san passed you?” She seemed to bloom, life just effusing out of her. “Okay! Let me just wash up a bit.” And she scrambled out of the room, a new spring in her footsteps. He could vaguely hear the sound of the bathroom door sliding open and close.

Allen smiled at the game cover on the ground with blank eyes. Black eyes stared.

* * *

“Ahh, I died again.” The dual-colour-haired idol groaned as he threw his head back, cracking his neck slightly. The two were playing the _intensely_ difficult game, their bean bags dragged to the front of the television screen, empty instant noodle cups and boxes of snacks littering the ground around them. The brunette laughed lightly and nudged her brother with her elbow. “Hey, considering this is the first time you ever played this game, you’re pretty good.”

“Even after failing for the first, oh I don’t know, three hours?”

“Yep!”

He smiled back at her and watched her restart the level. Nonchalantly, he made an off-hand comment just as they started playing one-on-one again. “I’m sorry Chi, I don’t really play a lot of games with you. But life isn’t really fair sometimes,” he ended with a short laugh, hoping that it would cancel out the heaviness in his heart.

“I know, I’m fine! Honestly, I’m happy with how things are,” Ema assured him, giving up looking at the screen to focus on him. Allen couldn’t push down the happiness he felt bubbling, so a blush appeared on his face while he grinned back at her.

Alas, life _really_ wasn’t fair. His phone beeped, and he read the incoming message. Heaving a sigh and withholding a wince at her knowing look, he smiled guiltily at her. “How about we play another two rounds?”

“I’ll win this time too!”

“Really? I’m pretty sure I have the tricks nailed down now.”

Laughter rang throughout the room, and Juli snuggled further into the quilt, smiling in his sleep.

* * *

“Sorry for calling you in so suddenly, Hyuuga-senpai,” Tokiya apologised again. Laughing it off, Allen just curled up with a blanket on the couch next to Ranmaru. “It’s fine, Tokiya. At least now we’re almost done with this song, and we can practise properly in time for the concert.” He stretched his whole body, leaning against Ranmaru, who was busy peeling a banana. Ren swung his arm around Tokiya’s shoulder, grinning. “That’s right, Icchi, little kitten loves us enough to do this.” Smiling exasperatedly and amusedly at Tokiya’s expression, Allen yawned, spotting a mug of steaming hot coffee in front of him just before he got up to get a drink. He looked up to see Camus sipping his tea, flipping through a magazine with his other hand. Smiling slightly, the black-blue haired idol breathed in the fragance, then tasting it with the enthusiasm of a caffeiene addict, and the tenderness of a long-forgotten lover. _Two sugars with a dash of cream. Just the way I love it._

Allen leaned against his closest friend’s side again, cradling the mug with both hands, retrieving warmth from a source he missed. An arm swung around his own shoulders, as Ranmaru shared with him a new piece of music, a “masterpiece”, that he just found on the net.

 _I, I am surrounded by love._ He thought to himself as he listened to Ren teasing Tokiya, with Ranmaru raving on about a new band beside him, and the quiet sighs and flipping of pages. He basked in the atmosphere, thinking of another similar situation in his new home, smiling as he remembered his dear sister, father, and new family. However, his focus was always on the others; he hardly ever saw himself as someone playing a large role in any activities taking place around him. They were the ones enjoying, while he merely observed. He always watched, and was always on the outskirts, always unmoving as he watched the liveliness pass him by. And as always, his thoughts soon took a dark turn.

_Yet there’s something lacking. I bring disharmony and unhappiness to them the most._

_How am I supposed to repay anyone, or be around anyone?_

_(The shoe on the other side is bound to drop anytime now. Since when has it been different?)_

* * *

“Yeah, I’ll just wait for you outside,” Ranmaru yawned out as he leaned most of his body weight against the front of his baby. “Hurry up, alright?” he shouted after Allen, returning to using his smartphone. The younger idol just waved his hand in affirmation, turning the corner through the main gates, sighing as he remembered his last text. Unfortunately, he had to stay overnight again at Ranmaru’s place, so that they could finally go through the song again until they had the choreography down. He had wanted to tell Ema directly, but she had texted him an hour into the meeting, two hours before he came home.

 _From: Chi <3 _(the name Ema gave herself in his phone when they both finally had one never failed to bring a smile to his face)

_“Sei, I’m heading out for a bite with Natsume-san! The time you were gone, I couldn’t get through the dessert level (insert snoring emoji here), so I gave up and asked Natsume-san for help. Then he told me to just meet him at the Epigaea **[1]** and White Acacia **[2]**Caf_ _é_ _, because he isn’t good with writing instructions (insert cry-laughing emoji here). Can you believe him? I’m kind of scared, but oh well. Everything has a first time right? Maybe now, he’d be more like a brother than a stranger. Anyway, I’m just telling you now in case you come back home early while Juli’s sleeping (like always) and get worried. Good luck with your work! (insert sparkly eyes and thumbs up emojis here).”_

Feeling resigned and cold, Allen had typed back a response.

_To: Chi <3_

_“Alright, remember to come back home early before it turns dark. If it’s too late, ask Natsume-san to give you a ride. I’m sure he’d be willing to. If he doesn’t, I’m sure Juli will throw a fit, and so will I. You have nothing to worry Chi, you always have a knack with charming everyone around you. I’m sure he’s no exception. Furthermore, there’re so many things you two can talk about. He’s a higher-up in the game company you love, exploit that fact and discuss about your favourite games with him. I’m sure he’d love that._

_Unfortunately, tonight I won’t be home. I need to stay over at Ran’s place again, so don’t stay up late waiting for me. I’ll see you tomorrow. (insert sunflower emoji here)”_

He stared at his open message once more, then with a click, he shut his phone, and trudged into the house. Or at least he wanted to, until he saw a black-haired male sitting at the stairs to the front door, head facing down to the ground, his entire posture emitting signs of defeat. Worried, Allen inched closer to the downtrodden male. “Azusa-san? Are you alright?”

Azusa looked up so quickly, Allen guessed that he had been too engrossed in his own thoughts to have heard him walking. “Ah, Allen-kun,” he smiled, almost painfully so. “Am I blocking your way? I’m sorry.” The older male tried to move aside, but instead of entering the house, Allen sat down beside him.

 _Perhaps Azusa-san didn’t expect me to willingly sit beside him,_ Allen thought wryly as his stepbrother looked at him surprised. “Is there something the matter?”

“W-why would you say that?”

A side of his mouth pulled up into a smile unknowingly, and the teenager gave him a knowing look. Almost embarrassedly, Azusa chuckled softly, then looked back down at his tangled fingers. “Well, Tsubaki told you this morning, that we auditioned for our favourite anime, right?”

A nod was his only response, encouraging the troubled voice actor to continue.

“We just got notified that I got the role Tsubaki wanted instead, and he got the villain’s role.”

_Ah, I see._

Azusa would be surprised to know that Allen knew exactly what he was talking about and more. _Much more._ A self-depreciating smile hung at his lips, and the bitterness of guilt regret and despair overtook his mouth again. _This is nothing, nothing, compared to what I did._

He hummed out loudly, and closed his eyes. He imagined what Chi would do if the situation were that of theirs instead. For such a minor matter, he knew exactly what she would do. Peering at the overcast sky that blocked out the sunlight and provided shade, Allen tried to articulate his thoughts as well as possible, with consideration to the situation.

“If I may, Azusa-san, I believe that Tsubaki-san would laugh at you for feeling this way.”

Azusa barely held back an indignant retort, but it died on the tip of his tongue when he saw the expression on Allen’s face.

“I know Chi would,” he said, affection colouring his words. Sighing, he continued. “She’d say that I was worrying for nothing, and even though she might feel slightly envious at first, she’d move on and fully cheer me on.

“I’m sure Tsubaki-san would be the same. He may even hit you if you continue feeling like you don’t deserve it.”

Grey eyes darkened, and thoughts ran across his mind too quickly for him to control them.

“Even if you know you don’t deserve it, you owe it to him to do your best, don’t you?”

Breath taken away, Azusa stared at Allen for a long while, before he turned to look back at the sprawling yard quickly, eyes suspiciously bright. Finally, as the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly down at them, Azusa finally cracked a genuine smile, though it was small. The breeze blew across the yard, and the scarlet geranium[3] flowers danced with the wind. He breathed in the scent deeply, relaxing his entire body as he exhaled.

“Thank you.”

Before Allen could answer, a white-haired individual stalked out from the side of the house, stopping just before the two on the stairs. A fierce glare was on his face as Tsubaki pulled Azusa up by the collar on his shirt.

“You better listen to Allen and not act like an idiot and quit the job,” he threatened. _It seems that Azusa-san is constantly in shock today,_ the amusing thought passed his mind as Allen watched Tsubaki dial up their manager and state that Azusa was taking up the job offer, all the while Azusa just stared without a word.

Once the role was secured for Azusa, Tsubaki punched his identical twin on the shoulder, grunting out, “You better not disappoint me.” Allen sighed in relief as the twins walked into the house laughing together, before spotting another head of white peeking around the side of the gates. Laughing, he jogged over to Ranmaru, who had been being the usual overly curious snoop he was. “Come on, I think I still need some time before we can go yet. You wanna wait inside instead?”

Shrugging, Ranmaru couldn’t resist the temptation of exploring a new place. “Sure, why not?” he answered as he put on his leather jacket, striding into the house as though he were the new owner. Hastily pulling off his boots, he quickly disappeared into the living room while Allen laughed at him, tidying up the place after Ranmaru.

It was only after he was done rearranging the shoes at the entranceway, that he heard something strange. The house was almost ringing with silence, that screamed awkwardness and hostility. He entered the living room, and saw Azusa staring at Ranmaru with, dare he say, caution and a bit of anger, while Tsubaki just stood there awkwardly with his arms hanging at his sides. Ranmaru was, of course, he sighed mentally, continuing with his scrutiny of the place.

A smile painted on his face, Allen approached the strange sight of the trio, stopping beside his friend. “Tsubaki-san, Azusa-san, this is my friend and colleague, Kurosaki Ranmaru. Ran, these are my new stepbrothers, Tsubaki-san and Azusa-san. You may recognise each other from the wedding.”

“Yo, nice to meet y’all.”

“Yes… nice to meet you too.”

“Nice to meet cha.”

The continuing hostile silence was too suffocating, so Allen decided to just do what he could think of. Flinging his room key at Ranmaru, who caught it purely due to his superior athletic reflexes, Allen smiled sweetly at him. “My room’s on the third floor. I’m sure you know how to read my nameplate of course?” The only response he got was a rolling of the grey and red eyes, and a scoff, before Ranmaru heeded the unspoken plea.

Tsubaki tried to follow Allen’s example, and nudged his opposite counterpart as well. “You gotta explain to the manager about your initial reaction. She wasn’t happy with your earlier response, and I have a feeling that her mood soured even more when I took up the offer for you just now.” Paling slightly, Azusa nodded, before walking off to the elevator to get to his room. Unfortunately, there was only one lift in the house, and Azusa and Ranmaru met at the ground lobby. Sparks could almost be seen emitting from the intense glaring competition between the two, but the doors closed before Allen could try to intervene. Sighing again, he thought to himself that perhaps, just _perhaps,_ Tsubaki was not the best person to expect a good follow-up from.

Looking back at Tsubaki, Allen’s exasperation slowly evolved into a sense of empathy towards him.

_Fate really loves toying with people, doesn’t she?_

His gaze softened as he watched Tsubaki’s confident stature shrivel into that of a dampened spirit. “I’m sure you’ll do perfectly fine as the villain as well,” he tried to comfort his stepbrother. “After all, your acting was enough to convince Chi and I that you and Azusa-san were lovers the first night.” Tsubaki snickered at the reminder of that incident, just as Allen thought he would. But soon, the grim look in his eyes returned, and he lost his smile.

“Say Al,” Tsubaki started, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You don’t think my voice acting is that bad, right?”

“Well, I can’t say for sure, since I’ve only heard it once.” Tsubaki visibly deflated when he heard that, looking down at the ground, but his ears perked up as Allen continued his answer. “But what I heard was great, so I believe that perhaps the judges merely had a different type of voice and personality in mind for the lead role. You’ve been casted as the villain, that’s another lead role. Villains help shape the hero, and allow the hero to grow and mature. That’s something that’s crucial too, isn’t it?”

Flushing slightly, Tsubaki laughed and swept an arm around Allen’s shoulders, drawing him closer to him. He grinned brightly and thanked Allen cheerily. “You know, you can be a motivational speaker. You have a really great way with words, thanks for helping with me and Azusa.”

_Do I really?_

“Of course,” Allen smiled shyly.

The moment was quickly broken by the calling of Allen’s name. “Oi, Hinata! I got your recordings and notebook. Let’s hurry and leave. Too slow.” Ranmaru strutted into the room, hand holding a thumb drive and sketchbook up.

“Oh, right,” the youngest in the room remembered. “Tsubaki-san, I won’t be coming home tonight due to work. Please help me apologise to Kyo-nii and everyone else.” Blinking, Tsubaki agreed, and stared after Allen. “Ran, you can go and start the engine first, I’ll catch up soon.”

Opening the fridge, Allen debated which canned drinks to take. He did feel bad for making Ranmaru wait so long, especially when they didn’t have much time to spare outside of perfecting their routine.

_Coffee sounds good. Americano or espresso? Maybe mocha? Ran does have a sweet tooth._

Hand reached out for two cans of mocha, Allen hurried and put his shoes on at the entranceway. Before he left however, Tsubaki clasped his shoulder, and grinned. “Call me Tsuba-nii too, will ya? Azusa will definitely like it too!”

Lips stretched into a smile, while brows furrowed slightly, as though seeing no way out. “Then, goodbye Tsuba-nii.”

Hand waving cheerfully, Tsubaki saw Allen off. Just after Allen got onto the motorcycle after passing Ranmaru his drinks, he saw a black car stop just outside the residence while he was preparing to wear his helmet. Narrowing his eyes, he nudged Ranmaru and nodded towards the car, when Ema and Natsume alighted. Ranmaru just sighed and made a shooing motion with his left hand, taking off his helmet. Squeezing Ranmaru’s arm slightly in thanks, Allen got off the bike and walked towards Ema. When Ema saw Allen, her eyes brightened, and a radiating smile appeared on her face. “Sei! Weren’t you staying over at Kurosaki-san’s place?”

“Yes, I was,” he replued fondly. “But I came backc to get some stuff. How was your talk? Do you think you can finally get past the level?”

“Oh… okay. Yep! It’s all thanks to Natsume-san though.”

Smiling tightly, he glanced over at the orange-haired male. Or rather, he stretched his neck and looked up at Natsume. _I still hate my height after all,_ he bemoaned silently. “Thank you for bringing her home,” he said with empty eyes.

Natsume looked back at him awkwardly. “Well, I obviously would’ve, even without your message.”

Allen smiled sharply, remembering the other text he had sent out.

_To: Asahina Natsume_

_“Dear Natsume-san,_

_Thank you for indulging my sister and taking out your time to talk with her. I’m afraid that I myself do not get the chance to do it often, and so, I’m thankful she can now talk to someone with the same interests as her._

_However, it would be very appreciated if you could fetch her home after your talk. I fear for her safety; the streets are not as safe as they were before. Please do take care of my sister. Thank you for your trouble._

_—Hinata Allen.”_

Ema waved at Ranmaru, who waved back, the exchange between Allen and Natsume clearly going unnoticed.

“Sei, don’t you have to go soon? Your concert’s coming up soon isn’t it?” his sister asked worriedly, as it seemed as though Allen wasn’t leaving soon.

His attention back, he smiled at his sister and agreed. “Yes, I do. Don’t play the night away,” he teased her playfully. Blushing slightly, she pushed him slightly while laughing, seeing him off.

“Bye Sei! Don’t work too hard!”

“I won’t, I won’t,” he promised with light eyes. “Bye, Chi.”

And the engine revved, separating his sister and him, leaving her alone in the house with the stepbrothers.

_Well, I’m sure Juli will take care of things. He’s always been prone to be overprotective._

* * *

“Phew, finally. We’re done for the day,” Ren sighed out as he collapsed on the black sofa, head leaning against the top of the back. Tokiya stood at a side, drying his hair with a towel, while Ranmaru chugged down some water and Camus continued doing cooling down stretches. Smiling at them all, Allen finished up his notes on how the practise went for the day. Once done, he too stretched his arms up above his head, bending sideways to relieve his backache.

“Al, you should go shower first.” Ranmaru practically shoved him towards the bathroom, while the younger idol laughed amusedly and just went with the flow. “Alright, alright. I’ve been here enough times that I would think I know the way around this place,” he teased, a playful glint in his eyes. All he got as a response was a ruffling of his black and blue hair, before he was left on his own.

A few minutes later, the long damp hair hung around his shoulders, while Allen tried to dry them as well as he could with his towel. As he headed back to the common area, he went unnoticed for a while, due to his soft footfalls. His ears picked up soft whispers, that were too quiet for him to hear at times. But what he could hear, he was curious about.

“But surely he would… perhaps… concert?”

“I guess… could work… surprise?”

“Guests… audience would be… much…”

“He’s… too open… family…”

Before he could hear more, he was found out. Ren cocked his head and announced happily, “Litten kitten’s done! Well gentlemen, please excuse me while I depart for my much-needed rejuvenation.” His statement caused the others to realise Allen’s presence, and they too started preoccupying themselves with their individual activities. With his dramatic flair, Ren left the living room, winking at Allen as he passed by him.

And once again, as Allen turned to gaze at the remaining people curiously, Ranmaru distracted him from his original plan. Who could ever resist tiramisu from the famous _Golden Swan_ patisserie?

It wasn’t until he was in bed, facing Ranmaru’s back, that he realised he never got around to finding out what exactly had been happening.

_I’m sure it’s just me being paranoid… They, especially Ranmaru, would never do anything to harm me. They wouldn’t. Right?_

Those were his only thoughts, as he fell into a dark abyss.  

* * *

 

[1] Meaning budding

[2] Meaning friendship

[3] Meaning comfort, consolation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I'm sorry I could only bust out this much after 5 months of not updating. But I hope you still enjoy it, as I felt that this chapter, though shorter than the rest, still managed to show more about the characters' personalities. While writing, the chapter started writing itself, and it started deviating more and more from the actual anime, which I'm actually pretty pleased about. Hopefully things will all play out right by the end of this story :)

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s note:  
> So I’ve come up with a new story haha. Right now my plan is to upload only when the net chapter is finished so hopefully updates should be fine… Hopefully. Real life is really tough, especially when you’re still a student. I’ve been obsessed with Brothers’ Conflict and Uta no Prince-sama since last year, and when I sat down to write, this story decided to be a crossover on its own. It’d be great if you guys watched the two animes before, but if not I think it’s fine to just read on. :) If I write well enough I should be able to convey the characteristics of the characters just fine without prior context. I hope you enjoyed reading!


End file.
